


Ariel of the Autobots

by Rangerfan58



Series: Autobot foster child [19]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: deaf character OC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 07:23:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 40,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11481468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangerfan58/pseuds/Rangerfan58





	1. Chapter 1

_Asterisks will denote foreign, alien or sign language, written languages will be bold. Also unless otherwise specified I will be using military time and explain what it means depending on if it's after 12 or not. And a situation that will be in the story is borrowed from watching two anime series that has the same situation_

well there was a person must sitting in the shadows waiting for something to happen no knowing that they were about to get a guest in a few hours. They "overheard" talk about a possible ambush but since they couldn't do a thing about it they stayed quiet figuring better not to say anything than to risk getting tortured...again. In the meantime they thought back to that fateful day so long ago that they now couldn't figure out the time

_ten years ago_

"hey Ariel nice assist on that last goal"

"thanks captain, I figured John had the best chance considering his position on the field"

"and that's why you're one of the best players on the team, because you have the ability to strategize on the field and make decisions based on information you're receiving at any one point in the game"

they finish packing their bags and that's when Ariel notices the time

"oh man we ran that late? I'm in trouble"

"what for?"

"simple I have a self defense class today and I'm running half an hour late already"

and so Ariel starts to run towards her lessons when suddenly she's abducted in front of several witnesses and secretly taken out of the country that same day

"just you wait once the police find out who you are you're going to be in so much trouble it's not even funny"

"sorry kids but by the time the police manage to find anything out about us we'll be in the Middle East"

Ariel looks horrified at that due to the fact that she knew America had no jurisdiction in other countries no matter  _what_  the reason. What the kidnappers didn't know was that she had training to handle the situation not only that but well...even without the training she was a very defiant person depending on the situation as criminals had found out  _before_  she started her specialized training, thus they now had a huge headache on their hands. She would also normally have powers she was born with but the abductors somehow knew of them so she couldn't use said powers. Every chance she got Ariel defied her captures until after five years they made her go deaf with a unique and permanent drug

_present day_

Ariel just sat there until she saw movement

"who's there?"

"a soldier"

"if you just said something I wouldn't know it, the creeps made me deaf after some time in their presence but what they didn't know is that I can lipread...well until now that is"

and so Ariel comes out of the shadow of the cell and the person repeats himself

"I'm an American soldier"

"I'm...I actually don't know how old I am, but my name is Ariel"

"well Ariel nice to meet you"

"what happened to you?"

"patrol got ambushed"

"tell me?"

"okay"

_three hours earlier_

"hey guys we have to stop"

"what for?"

"there's a car that's new EOD" (explosives Ordinance disposal) "has to check it out and detonate any IED's" (Improvised Explosive Devices) "they find"

"understood"

and so they waited until suddenly everything just exploded into action. Everyone fought and they actually tried to escape but unfortunately the soldier got captured in the process because of the fact that he had dismounted to fight the enemy and the enemy caught him by surprise

_present_

"and so they bound me up, gagged me and drove me to this place wherever here is"

"I see hey I know you can't tell me anything related to your mission or anything that could get you into trouble for telling classified information but I was wondering if you could tell me stories of your childhood or stories of your service in the military"

"I would love to, but be prepared to hurt like nothing ever before from laughter"

"hey I haven 't laughed in so long it would be a relief to be in pain from laughing"

"well then my first story is from when we first got a dog when I was a kid"

and so he started telling his stories that he could. It had only been a few hours since the soldier and the child had met yet they already had an incredible bond...probably due to the child simply asking for stories from him that he could tell

"and you know something no one ever did find out who pranked the Admiral"

"yet you knew because you were the culprit"

"exactly Ariel exactly"

(sighs) "so about how long do you think it will take people to notice you missing?"

"if my unit is good they probably already alerted FOB" (forward operating base) "and a possible rescue mission is already underway"

"hey better a few days or weeks then however many years it's been for me"

"you mean you don't know how long you've been prisoner?"

"nope I already told you that though"

"oh yeah you did, so when were you abducted?"

"when I was seven"

"say I never found out your last name"

"and you won't not unless we get rescued because my last name is too dangerous to know"

"fine I'll wait then and hopefully find out who you are eventually"

and so they did wait and they would be rescued two weeks later, unfortunately by that time Ariel was very sick from infection and was essentially unconscious, though she did slightly respond to strong stimuli. Mainly she responded to people moving her but not very much and all soldiers knew that she was at high risk of dying before she got back to base and would have to be identified by fingerprints to see if she was American or from some other country


	2. Chapter 2

"get us back to base fast"

"yes sir"

and so they finally get back to base and a medical team was already standing by. The soldier that had been rescued also went to medical and gave the medical team as much information as he could

"okay so since she's deaf she won't respond to voice at all and she's barely responding to movement"

"hey anyone think of fingerprinting her so that we can find out which country she's from so that we can inform them of her disability if they didn't already know of ti?"

"valid point"

and so they bring in the fingerprinting equipment and that's when they receive the shock of their lives. The equipment identified her as someone who had been legally declared dead six years ago

"this is impossible, the dead don't just simply come back to life looking like they've been through things most soldiers don't go through much less ordinary civilians"

"let's...let's get the base commander and show him the results we'll go from there"

and so tan assistant leaves the room to get the base commander while the main doctor continues to look at the screen and the name on it Ariel Kerenai. Ten minutes later the base commander shows up, demands a DNA test and declares nothing else will be done until the results of the DNA test come in

"if the DNA test results say the same thing fingerprints are saying...then I will be the one to inform the proper authorities on both her being found alive and the fact that her captures somehow made her deaf"

"oh we can already tell you what made her deaf as we did a blood test to see exactly what kind of infection we're dealing with here. It's a very unique drug that in proper doses can help certain types of infections but has been proven to show that in wrong doses can cause deafness, blindness and in an extreme overdose like all other overdoses death. The FDA" (Federal Drug Administration) "has approved the drug under the strictest of conditions in regards to the patients and it's also been discovered that any blindness or loss of hearing can't be erased if she's completely deaf she's completely deaf and no hearing aid will help her"

"I understand but according to reports she can lipread and if the DNA results prove the fingerprints well we all know how proficient she  _should_  be at sign language"

"unless she hasn't practiced it in a bit"

"and she might not have or if she has simply been stuck in a cell with nothing to do she might have practiced all her sing language and even more so once she realized she was deaf"

"true enough now then the DNA results won't be in for several more hours due to how old the equipment is not to mention the fact that I'm keeping her in a drug induced coma for everyone's safety, not to mention that some of the drugs I currently have to give her have some...side effects that make it best she sleep through them for the moment"

"understood let me know when the results come in so I can make the call I need"

"right"

and so they both go their separate ways to do their jobs. Several hours later the base commander finds out the results of the DNA test and they confirm the fingerprints

"thanks for telling me" (hangs up) "now to tell the proper people, people who declared her dead six years ago...hi I need to speak with captain Fairborne...hi captain Fairborne I'm calling to let you know that Ariel Kerenai is at my base in critical condition but definitely alive..yes DNA testing has confirmed it but there's something you need to know...her captures used a drug that has made her deaf...I see...yes I understand...alright thanks...you too goodbye"

and with that he hands up and gets on about his other duties while hoping that Kerenai could be woken up soon so that she could give a full account of what happened to her for these past ten years. Two days later the doctor was confident enough that although Kerenai would still need to be transferred to a better medical facility she was stable enough to survive said transport, he also decided to wake her up for the first time since she had arrived. Once she was awake she noticed people around her

"who...are...you?"

a note was given to her explaining she was at a FOB in the medical facility

"American forces?"

a simple nod yes confirmed her suspicions of rescue and she knew what they wanted so she told them that she didn't know how long she had been held captive but she would give as accurate an account as she could about what had happened to her during her captivity, she also explained that she could lipread. Three hours alter she finished her report (which had been recorded for her sake)


	3. Chapter 3

"okay first thing you should know is that you were abducted ten years ago"

"I've been here for ten years?"

"yes and you were legally declared dead six years ago"

"...I see so I'm dead"

"yes however once DNA analysis confirmed your fingerprints I informed captain Fairborne of the fact that you had been found so she's getting things set up to make you legally alive again. Now then once the transport gets here you'll be taken to Germany for better treatment and after that once you're medically cleared from their you'll either head to Bethesda or home"

"understood"

and so she's taken to the transport plane headed to Germany which turns out to be a good thing because she became slightly unstable while in flight, it was taken care of quickly and easily but everyone felt better once she was on the ground headed to the hospital. Three hours later the German counterpart to captain Fairborne is in the hospital waiting to receive word on Kerenai

*how is she doctor?*

*she lucked out

*how so?

*simple she survived things that would kill a normal person. I had to do emergency surgery due to internal bleeding that only just happened while in transit. There's something else you should know if you don't already*

*what is it?*

*her captures broke her back some months ago, she avoided paralysis by being as still as possible while her back healed but...*

*something happened during transport didn't it?*

(sighs) *yes a vertebrae re-cracked and severed the spinal cord she's now paralyzed from the waist down*

*is there anything that can be done to help her regain mobility?*

*yes but it's still a risky procedure*

*why would it...you're talking about the spinal surgery developed by the Autobots an d EDC* (Earth defense command) *three years ago aren't you?*

*yes I am we've managed to take the risks down to normal levels of back surgery but still...*

*well I have medical power over her while she's here but I still want input from her*

*well she should be waking up right about now do you speak English?*

*yes it's required of all EDC officers to speak English*

*then you'll have to play translator to her since even though she can apparently lipread I highly doubt she'll be able to tell what I'm saying*

*naturally*

and so they go to her room and break the new about the fact that she's paralyzed from the waist down, they also tell her of the risky procedure that could potentially give her back her legs

"I understand if you don't want to do it Kerenai after all its' a very risky procedure and it might not even work"

"can I have some time to think about this?"

the officer translates for the doctor and the doctor simply nods in affirmation and then says something that the officer translates for her

"he says he would never rush any patient into a decision, especially after you just had surgery to repair internal bleeding, if you don't accept here and decide to do it in America he'll transfer your charts to the medical facility that will do the procedure"

and so she thinks it over for the night and decides to go through with it

"tell him I'll do it, I understand the risks but if there's a chance I can regain the use of my legs I'll take it"

and so the doctor through the officer explains how things will be done and then the officer says once she's done with rehab she'll be taking a test to see where she strands in the education system

"understood hopefully my early years of lessons will help out but still, I will probably be at least tenth grade level"

"right"

and so she goes under for the operation the next day with Fairborne actually being there herself seeing as how she wanted to see with her own eyes that Ariel was alive and relatively well

"so does the great captain Fairborne not trust us and the American military?"

"now you know that's not true Strauss"

(laughs) "I know that but it got a smile out of you didn't it?"

she just nods and then the smile goes away again

"you're worried aren't you? I also think the reason why you're here is to confirm with your own eyes it's Ariel, even though you've been told the DNA testing has done that"

"I know that DNA testing has proven it's her it's just..."

and just like that the German officer understood what was going on

"you and the Autobots fought over declaring her dead six years ago didn't you?"

(sighs) "yes but not in the way you think"

"then how?"

"simple we knew that the American government was pushing to declare her dead due to the fact that nothing had ever shown up to prove us otherwise, what the Autobots and I fought over was how long a separate private search would be done and who would be in charge of it"

"how much longer did you guys search?"

"two and a half years, we funded another search for two and a half years, most of it through private donations and with volunteers but then money ran out and we also hadn't found anything on our sown so we finally had to give into the idea that she was truly dead"

"and now suddenly you hear that NDA testing has proven that Kerenai is alive and you want to see for yourself that it's her and that she's okay"

"yeah it's not that I don't trust the testing, its' just that her family and I have been waiting for a long tome to either find her alive for for her remains to be found so that she could finally have a proper funeral instead of a simple private ceremony with no casket and no place to go to to remember by except the EDC memorial"

"so this visit is more for visual reassurance then anything else and what do you mean by I?"

"exactly" (sighs) "it's been so long since we've seen her she probably looks drastically different from what we remember due to torture malnutrition and simply growing up as for the I comment well...it hasn't been released yet but the Autobots were recently killed in a Quintesson attack, the Decepticons were taken out first though"

"I see you know I never really did find out how she disappeared in the first place"

"she was on her way home form a soccer game, late for her self defense lessons when in front of lots of witnesses she was abducted. She was then somehow taken out of the country without our knowledge and has been missing ever since"

"but she'll want to play soccer again once she's better"

"plus if she's good enough she  _might_  be able to go pro but I highly doubt that, especially with the agreement she's going to have to sign once she becomes eighteen"

"agreement?"

"yes when she was six and in first grade she actually talked about having a special agreement with the government if she lost her family by the time she graduated of course I think she was planning on her continued education and living with her family until she was eighteen"

"is it true she's had all the training of regular forces and special ops by the time she was abducted?"

"actually yes she was smart enough and had regular training to do so"

"bet some of the older soldiers didn't like a kid training with them"

(snorts) "if she makes it through this and re-passes all the tests they aren't going to appreciate a kid having rank over them"

"oh yeah even though she'll only have the rank of lieutenant she can outrank the President if his life is in danger"  
"exactly"

well several hours later Ariel finally came out of surgery

*well we won't know if it worked until after she wakes up but she made it through surgery just fine*

*that's great news doctor this is captain Fairborne my American counterpart and the one qualified to make medical decisions for her in America if need be*

he nods hi to Fairborne and then leaves to check up on several other patients

"he says they won't know the results until she wakes up but she made ti through surgery just fine"

"that's great to hear, did you ask about visitors?"

"no but to be honest I doubt that will happen for at least three hours, they have to settle her into a room after all"

"well hopefully they'll let us know when she's allowed visitors"

"man you are definitely anxious to see if its' really her"

"of course I am"

and so four hours later they were finally allowed into her room. An hour after that she woke up"

"Fairborne...is that you?"

"hey...Ariel"

*Ariel I need to see if the procedure worked can you try moving your legs for me?*

once translated she does as asked and they are actually surprised at how well the procedure worked. The next day she was actually up and about and that's when they found out she didn't need any physical therapy like earlier predictions

*she can go home in three days, however I want her checked over by an American doctor just to make sure she's doing well and that there hasn't been any rejection of the chip*

*we'll take care of it*

*I overheard you talking to one of the nurses about her seeing the news because of the Autobots, and with a translators help I confronted Fairborne and she told me everything about my young patient I needed to know. Does Ariel know about...*

the officer shakes his head

*no we're going to tell her on the plane*

*but if she has a mental breakdown...*

*she'll manage with our help*

and so for the next three days Ariel recovers from surgery supposedly unaware that they were keeping things from her. Finally she was released from the hospital and informed she would have to see an American doctor within 24 hours of her return home so that they could do their own tests and make sure she was healthy. Once on the plane Ariel confronted Fairborne about keeping something secret from her


	4. Chapter 4

"Fairborne over the past three days I've noticed the looks doctors, nurses, and sometimes even you have been giving me. What are you keeping from me?"

(sighs) "I should have known you'd figure it out. Ariel a few days ago your family was all killed, by Quintessons"

"...I see, I assume that you want me to sign the agreement I planned on eleven years ago"

"yes oh by the way we have the results of your school testing back, you are indeed in tenth grade, that puts you two grades behind your peers"

"we can explain it as moving around a lot I guess"

"well to your classmates yes, but the school will have to be informed of the truth in case of triggers"

"right say do you think the doctor will allow me to play soccer?"

"well the German doctor has approved it but we also need the approval of the American doctor and don't forget the chip can be broken and then it will have to be replaced"

"I know and I think I know who made the procedure my family both the EDC and the Autobots"

"you're correct it's only been a recognized procedure for three years though"

"Understood"

"you know you're taking the loss of your family pretty well"

"well I knew I was probably dead to my family and considering who raised me well I always though about the possibility of me coming out of this alive and them being killed before they could see me again"

"how often?"

"oh very often over the past ten years it became a way of life for me but the possibility of them being alive is also what probably kept me alive too"

"you know I just though of something"

"what?"

"you may not have the necessary skills or strength to play high school soccer"

"we can test me once I get back because to be honest I practiced soccer in my cell...well whenever they would allow me to anyways, they didn't think practicing soccer skills would do much. It kind of helped that they never gave me a ball to practice with so used an imaginary ball"

"well tryouts will probably be starting by the time you're transferred into school so you'll find out soon enough if you're good enough for high school soccer"

"right I can't wait to show everyone what I can do"

"oh there's something you should know about your team from ten years ago"

"what?"

"it appears that after your death for a brief time they actually thought they saw you according to them"

"I think I understand what you're saying, they kicked to an invisible person"

"exactly"

"well I can't wait until we get home and I get back to school and soccer it's amazing I was found shortly before the start of the school year though"

"yes it was in fact by the time we're there school might've started so you might be a day or two behind I forgot the schedule the school gave me. They were informed about your surgery in Germany though so they understand if you're a little late"

"understood"

and so they arrive very late in the evening or very early in the morning depending on how you wanted to describe arriving at 0300

"you can make the appointment Fairborne I am going to sleep"

"of course Ariel you barely slept on the plane too excited to be coming home"

"exactly not to mention I haven't had to deal with jet lag like you have"

"point taken"

and so they get home and while Ariel sleeps Fairborne makes the appointment for 1600 (4 pm)

"...yes very jet lagged...okay...yes thank you...bye"

and so later that day Ariel goes to the appointment and is actually cleared to play soccer should she make it onto the team and that makes her very happy because she had wanted to play soccer for the past ten years

"oh by the way you're going to be given a special tryout since you missed the normal tryouts last week"

"so when did school start?"

"two days ago, you'll be starting tomorrow so you'd best get to bed at a decent time and  _try_  not to look jet lagged in the morning"

"right I understand Fairborne"

"good well come on you need new clothes, shoes and..."

"I need to sign the contract I know"

"then come on let's get going so that we can get everything at a decent time"

and so that's what they do and Ariel signs the special contract. What no one knew was that both the Autobots and Decepticons that had survived the Quintesson onslaught had convened on Cybertron and were now making very very important decisions

"so it's agreed that Earth thinks all Cybertronians are dead?"

"agreed though I wonder how they will handle the Quintessons"

"they'll manage somehow especially considering what we're planning on doing to help them"

"Galvatron before we completely lose track of whats' happening on Earth for an undetermined amount of time I want to check on the news and the EDC one last time"

"right"

and so they sift through EDC files and that's when they find out Ariel was alive and back in America, they also found out she needed their three year old operation to regain use of her legs and that she was deaf due to medicine

"so she's alive too bad we may never see her again"

"maybe we can leave a message to let her know we're alive and that the Autobots and Decepticons are finally united as one race but that no one else can know for their safety"

"sorry Optimus but you know that's not going to work"

"why not Rodimus?"

"did you forget?"

Optimus thinks for a bit and then realizes his mistake

"oh"

"yes Prime oh"

"say there's something else we need to discuss seeing as how all three of us are now leaders of the Cybertronians what are we going to be called because I doubt you'll allow yourself to be called a Prime Galvatron"

"Magistrate maybe? I believe on Earth it has the same meaning as leader"

"close enough alright then we'll go with magistrate and we each have equal roles in leadership meaning that if one of us says something that means that they are to assume the same orders came form the other two"

"basically if one of us gives an order all three of us are giving an order"

"pretty much now then we're going to have to act fast to start disrupting Quintesson plans on Earth what do you suggest Magistrate Galvatron?"

"split our forces and start searching for potential Quintesson bases Magistrate Optimus"

"Magistrate Rodimus?"

"works for me while you two discuss the particulars on who goes where I'm going to inform the masses on what we are now calling ourselves and the fact that Ariel's alive"

"good idea"

and so he informs them that the three of them were no Magistrate's to have a unified means of telling leadership and that Ariel Kerenai who was initially also known as Ariel of the Autobots but now Ariel of Cybertron was alive

"there's something else you should know though, from now on we can only communicate with her through sign language. Her captures made her deaf about five years ago and while she can lipread with the best of them she always did say masks and simply how we were designed make it hard for her to lipread whenever she was practicing it"

"when will we be reunited with her?"

"unknown at this time but since we do we will have reminders of her being deaf and will have to use sign language"

"not to mention explain the whole Autobot Decepticon alliance thing"

"true but for now we have to work to do Optimus and Galvatron should be announcing our plan soon enough"

"so we're taking it to the Quintessons for Earth's protections?"

"exactly Soundwave"

every Cybertronian had a very interesting look on their faces almost like feral grins

"looks like once Optimus and Galvatron agree on deployment we have very eager Cybertronians ready for a fight"

about two minutes later Optimus and Galvatron declare their attack plan to the masses in regards to helping Earth fight the Quintessons

"some of the Decepticons will head towards our old home planet while the Autobots will head in the opposite directions, we will search each planet we can for Quintesson bases. Those not on search parties will stay on Cybertron under our command to protect Cybertron which will be a last line of defense before the Quintessons make it to Earth"

"what will happen if Earth gets suspicious about how few attacks have actually happened?"

"trust me that's not going to happen due to the fact that frankly Earth has more trouble than it can contend with right now"

"should we go to our proper language for now maybe we can confuse the Quintessons even more that ways"

the three Magistrate's look at each other realizing their major mistake

"agreed"

and so they switch to their native language hoping against hope that in only a few years they could make contact with Earth and more specifically Ariel. Back on Earth it was finally the day of Ariel's special tryouts for the soccer team

"as I understand it you can lipread but on the field I can't tell you anything unless I'm looking at you directly"

"correct"

"okay we'll see how you do with both individual skills and then we'll see how yo are with teamwork, with your deafness if you pass we'll have to make modifications to how the tea works with you on the field"

"understood"

and so she gets off to a very good start impressing them with her individual skills. A short time later they quickly get a handle on how she  _might_  work while on the field. On the field she almost totally went for the goal taking opportunities to steal the ball when possible, she also occasionally looked at where her teammate's were to accept passes. Everyone learned through this scrimmage that basically with Ariel being deaf she won't hear any plans suddenly made and any plans she has they have to adapt to and fast


	5. Chapter 5

"you know we could use your deafness to our advantage Kerenai"

"oh?"

"yep because if you suddenly go against any plans made on the field because you can't hear we suddenly have a whole new plan to play, that and with you needing to mostly make your own plans the enemy won't be able to figure out what we're doing most of the time"

"I was wondering something I know it will be impossible while on the field but maybe we could potentially make plans that simply can't be overheard with sign language"

"wait isn't that one of the main ways you communicate when you can't lipread or the situation doesn't allow for lipreading?"

"exactly in fact it's the  _only_  way I can communicate when I can't or don't have the opportunity to lipread"

they all look at each other and make a decision

"we'll learn sign language, we'll start with finger spelling and then start learning signs related to soccer"

and so the two that know sign language practice so that the one that needed to be refreshed could be refreshed on sign language. It only took the one who was very rusty two weeks to remember everything she needed and that's because it was always in her subconscious it's just that she didn't have instant recall because of little usage

"now that you're caught up let's start teaching the others"

and so that's exactly what they do, while at the same time they started playing soccer for real. One thing that frustrated everyone though especially that first game was that only two people knew sign language well enough to actually use in a real life scenario and frankly sign language was what they needed against the first team of the season

"Ariel we're saving you for the second half, that ways we can surprise them"

"right"

as it would turn out Ariel would be brought in sooner than the second half due to another teammate being injured in a tackle

"okay right now the plan is to simply get the ball to the goal as fast as possible the route that we're taking is completely up to all the players"

"so basically it's up to my discretion on how the ball makes it to the opposite end of the field"

"oh you're sneaky aren't you?"

"what do you think?"

and so the opposite team gets a chance to get another point and then it was their turn for kick off. They weren't expecting Ariel though, she came in fast and sudden. Then she shocked her opponents by not immediately passing to her teammates, instead she moved the ball forward about two yards and  _then_  passed the ball even though a teammate had been free and asking for the ball the entire time. This would continue for the rest of the game though occasionally things would change on the field and she would immediately pass but they noticed it was as if Ariel had her won plans and the team was forced to work around them. The team would face tragedy that day though, on the way home the road was wet, and it was dark, the driver suddenly skid on the water and crashed. Everyone was sent to the hospital with moderate to severe injuries and there was also one fatality. The team would find out in the hospital that their team captain was killed in the crash due to where they struck the tree, they also found out that their fall season was through, they were simply too injured to even think about being recovered in time for the next several games. Most of the team would have protested such a decision if not for Ariel making a very valid point and the fact that she agreed with the coach

"guys do  _not_  argue with us about this, we need to  _heal_ before we can play soccer again do you really want to permanently prevent yourself from playing soccer? Because that could happen if you don't allow for proper healing"

"and what makes you such an expert on healing?"

the coach and Ariel look at each other and decide to tell a partial lie seeing as how they couldn't know the full truth

"because several months ago I almost wound up paralyzed due to a broken back during a training exercise gone seriously wrong, if I hadn't allowed for proper healing I wouldn't be walking right now"

"could too, a procedure about three years ago was approved and now if you qualify your paralysis can be cured"

"yeah well I didn't need it so I couldn't have known about that"

"why not?''

"uh maybe because the news doesn't interest me"

"any news?"

"nope"

"so how long will we be unable to play?"

"at least three months two for bone healing one for rebuilding our strength"

and so they go back to school waiting for world on when they were allowed to play soccer again and in November they finally go the go ahead to start training again for spring semester

"so who do you think will become captain?"

"don't know for sure but I think Johnson will, after all" (stops the ball with her foot) "he was being trained as the vice captain before the accident"

"yeah guess you're right"

"now then come on we need to continue practicing and then I think we're having a team meeting to discuss what we're going to do about the new season"

"you mean recruiting new members to replace those graduating and who were forced to leave after the accident"

"exactly"

and so they go to a restaurant and all issues regarding recruitment were discussed and finally Ariel talked about something not many people knew about or  _wanted_  to talk about

"there's something I need to talk to you guys about in regards to the new team I think...I think things might go smoother if I drop out of high school at the end of the year and take the GED" (General Education Diploma) "test and start applying to colleges at the start of summer"

"drop out are you crazy?"

"listen due to circumstances beyond my control I'm two years behind my age I don't know if newer players would accept it like you have"

"the coach, captain and I talked about that very same issue before you joined Kerenai and it was decided that we'll deal with any issues regarding you being two grades behind everyone else when and if it comes up"

(smiles) "thanks Johnson there's something else we need to talk about that might affect the whole team"

"what is it?"

"while practicing alone or with the rest of the team has anyone else seen a shadow or afterimage that looks like the old, dead captain?"

everyone just sighs at that comment knowing all to well what Ariel was talking about

"okay I admit the other day when I was practicing with the local soccer team I thought I saw the captain and made a pass to the opposite team and my team asked me where I was passing"

"what do we do about it?"

"I think it's time we confronted it head on"

"how? I want to know how we confront death head on Kerenai"

"simple we talk I'll be the first to admit that while I'm normally good at expressing emotions so many things have been going on around me lately that I've suppressed the emotions regarding the captain's death, I also think its' time we visited his grave again as a  _team_  because I don't know about you but I have yet to do that because of all the emotions I want to run away from"

they all look at each other and realize Ariel was right, they  _needed_  to talk about the old captain and start truly mourning him. And so they do exactly as suggested by Ariel, but all of the talking and remembering isn't done until they actually get to the grave site where the captain had been buried all those months ago after the crash

"hey captain, sorry we took so long getting here, ii guess we all just needed time away from each other to truly realize what your loss did to us"

and so everyone just talks and remembers the captain both good times and bad. They head home after a very late night and the next day they meet in the club room to discuss new members and how to recruit, after all everyone had heard about the crash when it had happened (turned out that weather in the area was the main factor because of break fluid freezing up) and had also seen the results once they were back in school

"so how do we do this? After all I highly doubt people will want to enter our team because of the crash"

"maybe have a flier that states anyone interested in soccer can meet the team and through us find out what happened that day"

"that won't really work"

"doesn't the school have a sort of weekly newspaper with different sections?"

"that could actually work, we'll mention we're looking for new team members while also explaining that the crash happened because of the weather that day"

and so they talked about other options but the school pamphlet as Ariel called it was the best option they had

"wait what about eight graders?"

"we go to their schools and talk to them about how accidents like we had aren't every day occurrences and that weather was the reason we crashed that day"

"okay Ariel there's something else we need to talk about"

"what is it Johnson?"

"will the newcomers learn sign language as well or was that an experiment approved by the captain?"

(sighs) "it would be easier for me if yo and everyone else did know sign language even if we cant' use it whenever we're on the field unless there's a break, however I will not force the team to learn sing language if anyone on the team thinks it would be best not to"

with that Ariel leaves knowing it was best for the rest of the team to talk it out without her so that she couldn't influence them. What she didn't know was that the rest of the team had been talking without her about the sign language aspect ever since they got out of the hospital and had ultimately decided to ask Kerenai about it. Once she left for them to obviously talk about it amongst themselves they started fighting, but not by actually talking, because not only had they continually talked about what to do about the whole team sing language thing everyone had gone to the one other person who knew sing language and asked for continued lessons. Thus when Kerenai left everyone started talking and arguing in sing language so that they wouldn't cause am major disturbance


	6. Chapter 6

*looks like we have to decide for ourselves doesn't it?*

*what else would you expect? I know for a fact that she has no knowledge of us continuing sing language lessons*

*I say we go for it*

*what about the newcomers? They'll be hopelessly lost*

*private lessons and only teach them important signs for playing*

*that won't always work as we've found out over the past several months*

*what else can we do besides finger spell everything which takes twice as long?*

*I don't know! I don't know, the captain would have known what to do but I don't heck we don't even have a captain right now because the coach hasn't selected one*

and so they continue arguing and giving out ideas when finally all talking just ceased out of frustration which had become more and more noticeable as the talking had continued

"I'll be tat practice tomorrow like normal but for now I think we all just need to split up and cool ourselves down"

(sighs) "agreed, we aren't much use to each other like this"

and so they split up hoping to just calm down with a few hours to themselves. At home Johnson's family could tell that he was frustrated with something so his younger sister who was about to go into ninth grade the next year (she skipped a grade) called him out on it

"Mark you look frustrated, did the team argue about something?"

(sighs) "you could say that, no correction we  _did_  argue about something and it's something important to the team"

"can you tell me?"

"not really because it's not something you'll understand it affects the incoming members of the soccer team...well the potential new members of the soccer team"

"you still think people won't join even though evidence clearly states that the weather caused the crash that killed your old captain"

"yes we all do, bu the thing the team was arguing about is something that affects only one member of the current team"

"did you all not come to an agreement about the issue?"

"nope and we all decided that it was best to separate and cool down before things got violent"

"well why don't you just let the new members decide what they want to do in regards to the situation with the one player and the rest of you do what you would have been doing all season if not for the crash"

"let the...members decide...others do...that's it you're a genius Mary"

"all I did was point out the obvious"

"yeah but you have a different perspective I have some calls to make see ay"

he quickly goes up to his room and starts calling everyone but Ariel asking to met on the soccer field at school immediately. Thirty minutes later everyone but Ariel was there

"so what are you calling us here for and where's Ariel?"

"Ariel isn't coming tonight"

"what?"

"I made sure to call everyone here but her because this is something we need to take care of on our own and not something she should be mediating"

"oh this is about the sing language issue"

"exactly I think I know what to do, now then my younger sister helped me out by giving me the idea in the first place bu I'm making a few modifications. She said that we let the incoming members decide whether or not they want to learn sing language while the rest of us continue using sign language around the, however I'm modifying her suggestions so that if they rookies don't learn sing language then unless Ariel suddenly uses it due to stress we don't use it either, after all she doesn't even know we continued lessons after the loss of the captain"

"why didn't we think of that?"

"simple all of us were stressed and needed an outside source to think about the problem in a different way than we could"

"makes sense I guess"

"then we're all agreed?"

they all nod in agreement then go home to hopefully get at least  _some_  sleep that would be useful. The next day they started the process of recruiting new members both at the high school level and the middle school level. Their commitment to rebuilding the soccer team and the fact that they were being as honest as possible allowed students to understand why the accident had happened, unfortunately the team knew it would not regain former members that were forced to quit due to concerned families. Those that had been forced to quit tried to show their families the truth but none would hear it, though actually for one soccer member the team knew he would have to leave during the season anyways due to parents working, that family would allow him to continue soccer once they healed. Meanwhile things were going great and the school decided to show off the remains of the soccer team to show that their skills hadn't diminished from the loss of the captain and the fact that they were forced not to play for so long. To do so the school invited another team who gladly agreed to the game happy that the high school was getting back on it's feet in regards to soccer. That weekend the game was set and things were actually going well, until Quintessons attacked and Ariel had to start fighting with her re-certified skills

"arranyan air ball!"

she puts her arms in a large circle and the pushes forward just as if she was pushing a ball. For the next attack she crosses her arm like an x and had the middle and index fingers on both hands pointed out and then as she called out the attack she moved her arms across each other and  
straight out to her sides like a v

"arranyan winds!"

next her palm was simply up and out for the next attack which could actually also be used as a cushion for major falls depending on how she finished her sentence and also how strong she mentally decided it was

"arranyan air blast!"

unfortunately none of the attacks worked and though the EDC had joined the fight the Quintessons weren't giving up and so Ariel realized that she had to use a new attack that she had only realized she could do during her recuperation period

"looks like I now have no other choice but to use a new technique I only just discovered by accident a few months ago, this attack has not been perfected and can drain my strength as simple as that, but it's the only way to defeat you guys"

suddenly everyone could  _see_  an aura around her that wasn't normally visible and everyone could also  _feel_  the power that she was born with seeping out and then she called out her attack which actually wasn't a real attack more like a new means of using her powers

"arranyan swords"

the aura that surrounded her was suddenly solid in both her hands and actually did look like swords that she could wiled to defeat the enemy with. She then charges the Quintessons and actually kills two of them before they retreated unfortunately just as she had mentioned before using said swords she was exhausted and pretty much black out right after she was sure the Quintessons were gone. The game was rescheduled for another ay because frankly the field needed to be repaired before they played any sport on it

"hope your teammate is okay"

"according to some EDC officers she'll be fine she just really needs rest"

(snorts) "I don't doubt it after what we've seen today"

"just so you know this is the first time  _we've_  seen her like this she has never revealed something like this before"

"so you didn't know she could fight?"

"oh we knew self defense was important to her but this is a whole new side of her that we've seen"

"well I think your school will call ours once the field is ready...um will it be ready in time for the spring season?"

"if not we have a partner school which will allow us the field"

"how do you know this will happen for sure?"

"because of the special agreement we have with them, you see we have a field and they have a pool and field for practice the thing they don't have that we do is a basketball court"

"so during winter how do they do phys ed?"

"winter time is pool time for them, they also use the indoor tennis courts for everything they can think of, but basketball doesn't happen because the walls won't support the right equipment for basketball"

"so if you need it you have use of their facilities and they get use of the court"

"exactly"

the next day Ariel woke up with a headache and also realized what she'd done


	7. Chapter 7

"man that is  _not_  something I want to do again"

"what exactly was all of that?"

"my powers Fairborne, though like I said the sword thing is still relatively new, I don't have control over it"

"by control you mean how much we feel and the visible aura?"

(snorts) "I wish, no when I say I have no control I mean the last stunt I pulled could have gotten me killed doing it"

"wait you mean it could have  _failed_  at any point in time?"

"that's exactly what I'm saying I could have lost the swords and then I wouldn't have any weapons against them"

"understood, well the field needs repairs so the sister school is getting involved"

"right thanks for telling me that"

and so she gets back to school actually getting whispers of a potentially new problem that only pro soccer players could take care of, but she couldn't do anything at the moment only being in high school and also having to prepare for the possibility of  _not_  becoming pro because of how long she hadn't been able to play. Two weeks after she started thinking about potential options besides being a soccer player to deal with the group that she was calling at the moment the Scretents they got new soccer members

"Ariel I know you don't normally do this but I want you to get the soccer balls and some of the other equipment you can get solo"

"want to talk to the new comers as the new captain?"

"yeah"

and so she heads to the locker room and once he was sure she wouldn't turn back around the captain talked to the new embers

"okay I'm sure you guys noticed that Ariel was looking directly at my face at all times and how I made sure to always be within her eyesight when taking to her. There's a reason behind that, Ariel is deaf due to some sort of medicine mix up, what we need to ask is if you guys want to learn sign language so that we can make plans without the opposite team knowing what those plans are oh and you're also going to have to get used to the Kerenai plan"

"what's the Kerenai plan?"

"basically whatever Ariel comes up with the team works around, seeing as how we found out first hand that using sing language while playing is technically legal but very  _very_  hard to do"

well the new members look at each other and come to a quick and actually easy agreement

"we focus on the essential signs that we need to know and also finger spelling that ways we can communicate much easier with her"

well a few minutes later Ariel came back but there were no soccer balls

"where are the balls Ariel?"

"we need to get into the office  _now_ "

her tone of voice told the entire team that something big was up

"what's wrong?"

Ariel shakes her head

"I don't really know all I know is that I got a police officer stop me in the hallways asking me what I'm doing. I was detained which equaled cuffs behind my back while they confirmed what I told them and then ordered to get my entire team into the office ASAP to discuss a situation regarding this school and potentially our school as well"

hearing that the captain made a very simple order

"double time people!"

and so they  _run_ to the school and quickly get to the office where there were several officer waiting for them to arrive to essentially tell them what was happening

"good everyone is now inside the building there's..."

well he suddenly turned away and that meant Ariel had no idea what was going on what was worse that there was just so much going on at once and they hadn't been informed about her having to read lips. The only good things is that Ariel learned that the original team kept up with the sing language lessons

"...and that's basically what's going to happen"

Ariel looks at her teammate's and asks a question the officers never expected

"guys what's he talking about? And please keep it as brief as possible even with us being stuck until they say otherwise"

*gunman on the loose, 3 dead 9 injured, plan is to keep us here for now once sure not in area use normal cars to get back to school, may not get back before school ends due to route, family alerted to situation*

"you used sign"

"we've been practicing without your knowledge until today, we agreed that if the new members didn't want to learn it we wouldn't force them and we also wold restrain from sing but they want to learn so we don't have to restrain ourselves"

Ariel was really happy about the fact that they had continued learning sing language without her asking and that the new players were going to be learning as well. Three hours later they finally were back at their original school and several official looking people were waiting and as soon as they saw Ariel they went straight to her and asked her by name remembering to keep eye contact at all times

"are you Ariel Kerenai?"

"yes who are you?"

"we're lawyers, through the EDC you've been trying to arrange for some land for the past two weeks"

"oh was that meting  _today_?"

"no it wasn't but we got here early so..."

come on then let's get to my place first before we discuss anything else"

and so they get to where she was currently staying and they started discussing particulars about the land that she was buying and what she planned to do with it

"well I may not be able to go pro after high school but I'm still going to try. The thing is I decided that if I can't go pro I might as well have a soccer camp for lack of a better term for schools to get in training, it will also be a retreat of sorts for me if I decide I need to get away from it all"

"seems reasonable"

and so they continued talked about a few other things and then the land was all hers. Once the lawyers left Ariel demanded to talk to Fairborne in private

"what's wrong Ariel?"

"I know you might need me for the war against the Quintessons but I've been catching whispers of a group trying something through the world of soccer. I call them the Scretents when we build the lodge where the soccer players are staying I want an underground base for what I will call Freedom, it will basically be an anti-terrorist group that opposes Scretents whenever the members get a chance"

"and we'll support you however we can starting by helping you build an underground base. I assume you'll want it to be beneath the lodge somehow"

"that's the best option to me, and if I go pro I think my entire team will be part of the group, and I will be recruiting naturally but I need to make sure they can handle themselves and are naturally trustworthy"

"but of course"

and so the new soccer season started and the first game was a major test for them,they had to see if they were truly capable of playing without the afterimage of their dead captain affecting them too badly

"Karen you're up"

suddenly Karen who was new to the team saw a ghost or something show her a clear path to the goal and in front of the goal was Ariel

"John get it to Ariel any way possible"

and so John starts running towards the goal and towards Ariel with just one thought

" _if it's Ariel, due to the fact that she's deaf they'll underestimate her, so she can make it_ "

and so everyone starts passing the ball to one another and the ball actually makes it to Ariel who then makes an incredible shot into the goal


	8. Chapter 8

"we did it, thanks to the ghost or whatever it was we made it passe dour first game!"

everyone started celebrating the sudden win until one of the members suddenly screams out a name that they weren't expecting

"ARIEL!"

everyone on both sides of the field look to see Ariel on the ground unconscious with blood coming from her mouth and it almost looked like her back had blood on it as well. Medics quickly took her to the infirmary where it was discovered they had to transfer her to a hospital immediately or risk losing her

"does anyone know enough of her medical history to go with her?"

the coach speaks up

"I do and I  _will_  be needed if she wakes up on the ambulance"

"what for?"

"you'll see if she wakes up"

and so she's rushed to the ambulance after emergency field aid and everyone on both teams somber up, Ariel's team because they remembered the accident only months earlier and their opponents because they respected their opponents and they too were worried about Ariel

"what happened to her anyways?"

"either someone poisoned her or shot her considering there was blood on her back"

suddenly at those words it was as if the air chilled about ten degrees because Ariel's entire team and part of their opponents team moods darkened

"if she dies and I find out who did it I'm going on a killer hunt"

"some of us will gladly join you"

"what sort of training you got?"

"those that will join are EDC kids, we know self defense and how to use a gun"

"works for me"

suddenly Marissa Fairborne steps in before the group could get out of hand (she had only just arrived after calling the hospital to let them know the coach had temporary allowances to make medical decisions) and get themselves into trouble

"now all of you stop that line of though right now, I know Kerenai and I know for a fact hat she wouldn't want you guys wasting your lives for hers"

that calms the entire group down enough to think reasonably and know that Marissa was right about Ariel. Meanwhile in the ambulance Ariel did indeed wake up and the coach immediately asks a very important question for latter investigations

*Ariel do you know what happened?*

*shot, silencer hurts*

the coach hisses out loud making the two paramedics wonder what Ariel signed (both recognized it as American Sign Language (ASL) but neither understood it)

*anything else we should know?*

*bullet poison*

the coach nods in understanding and then addresses the paramedics

"she was shot and apparently the bullet was poisoned"

that got the two paramedics switching gears fast and doing their best to neutralize the poison, they also alerted the hospital to the fact that Ariel had been shot with a poisoned bullet so that  _they_ could prepare equipment to treat her. Once they arrived the coach was sent to the waiting room to fill out what she could of the medical forms and Ariel was taken for emergency surgery. Two hours later Fairborne and the rest of the team arrived in the waiting room

"coach is she okay?"

(sighs) "due to the fact that I technically have no medical power over her I haven't heard anything since they told me we was being taken up to surgery. She was alive last I saw her but that's all I know"

"what happened?"

"she was shot Fairborne, and apparently the shooter used a silencer, add that with all the cheering that was happening and no one heard a thing, the bullet was also poisoned but how she could tell that I don't know"

(sighs) "I'll tell all of you however it has to be done at an EDC station and it can never be repeated around people who aren't qualified to know, due to the situation and the fact that all of you are now in constant danger because you are now her body guards you are cleared to know about her, including why she's behind the rest of her age mates by two years"

and so Fairborne asks about Ariel and they finally find out she made it through surgery and that the poison was being neutralized

"she's not allowed to play soccer for two weeks but after that as long as she listens to her body she'll be allowed to play"

"wait I though the wait was longer after surgery"

"normally it would be longer than two weeks but we used a new procedure regarding her type of surgery needed and it doesn't take as long to heal as conventional surgery"

"thank you doctor, um you were informed that she's deaf correct?"

"yes and I have nurses who know sing language on her case and if they can't be available we have a sing language interpreter employed by the hospital who is always on call and can be asked to attend meetings if need be"

"that's good to hear, now then everyone here is going to the EDC station to give your events of what happened and I'm also treating you guys to lunch so come on, into the bus"

and so everyone heads to the EDC base to tell them what they saw and heard when Ariel was shot. Once that was done Fairborne made sure that all calls were held and that they had absolute privacy

"what I'm about to say doesn't leave this room understood?"

"yes"

"okay first thing you guys should know is that she hasn't been moving around for the past ten years like you've been told. Almost eleven years ago now Ariel was abducted on the way home from a soccer game at the age of seven, she was running late by a half hour for her self defense lessons but we had already known that she might be late on game day so we were prepared. What we couldn't be prepared for was people stalking her and abducting her for ransom. Naturally the ransom wasn't paid, in fact what happened was we never got the ransom note because at the last minute once she was out of the country the boss decided he no longer wanted money, he just wanted Ariel. She was taken to the middle east and put in a small cell for the next ten years. After about four years we finally had to declare her dead because we no longer had the resources to fund a search and frankly we also had no sing that she was even alive so we ultimately filed to have her legally declared dead"

"wait we?"

(sighs) "yes I"m getting to that part but you have to be patient with me. Anyhow a year after we had to declare her dead and five years before she was found her abductors used a very powerful drug which made her go deaf. Then last summer a patrol unit was ambushed and a soldier captured, his team returned to their Forward Operating Base and a rescue team was launched, it would take two weeks to find him and that's when they got a surprise. Their comrade was stuck in there with a teenager, who was weak and essentially dead from an infection she had developed in the last two weeks somehow they tried to get her to respond to voice before the now free soldier mentioned she was deaf so instead the used very strong stimuli, and even then she barely responded to anything the did. Once back at base she was immediately taken to the medical section and fingerprinted and the prints revealed the teenager to be Ariel Kerenai. The doctor called the base commander about it and he said to wait until DNA results were in to probe what the fingerprints were already telling him. Once the tests confirmed it was really Kerenai I was called and informed of her being alive, a call her family and I had been waiting for ever since we had heard of her abduction ten years earlier. Her family never found out about her being found about alive, in fact if they had needed to I would have been called about her body being found and I still would have been happy because at least we'd finally have a body for a proper funeral. Anyhow like I said her family never found out about her being alive because they had been killed the day before I myself was told. I went to Germany as quickly as I could after I started the process of her being declared alive again and that's where I found out about her paralysis..yes she lied to you about not needing the special surgery the EDC and...and her family created three almost four year ago now. Once I saw with my own eyes it was really her I could finally believe she was alive and coming home. Once she was discharged she confronted me about keeping secrets from her and that's when I told her that her family the Autobots were dead. She easily accepted their death and you guys pretty much know the story from there"

all of the students were silent in awe of what Ariel had accomplished in such a short time, the were also in awe of just who had raised her to be a survivor for just a short amount of time

"so wait, if the Autobots raised her wouldn't that mean..."

"yes she is also known as Ariel of the Autobots and she has the highest security clearance besides the President'

"not even the Secret Service has her security clearance?"

"no they don't it's simply not possible for them to have her security clearance because of the fact that due to her living with the Autobots she has to know things most people don't"

suddenly the captain makes a connection to something

" _that's_  why she's only two years behind the rest of her age isn't it?" she had to learn a lot early on so she already knows a lot of the stuff but she just can't take a GED because she doesn't know everything the test requires"

"that's exactly it"

"she's amazing"

"yes she is, now then remember no one is allowed to know what you know unless they're already cleared for it and since you guys don't understand clearance levels I'd suggest not talking about this again...ever"

"yes ma'am"

"now then it's late so I want everyone to go home and get some sleep, I'll let you know when she's allowed visitors because she  _will_  be there for at least tomorrow maybe longer if the procedure doesn't work like they thought, or if the poison is more stubborn than the antidote"

"what  _is_  the procedure anyways?"

"oh that, if you're in the medical field everyone knows about a newer non to less invasive surgery for people with Ariel's kind of injuries. It has been proven to heal after two weeks, I should know one of my people needed that surgery two months ago and he's back on full duty now"

with that the team goes home after a trying day. The next day they were in school obviously worried about Ariel but doing their best not to show it, until it came time for after school practice. The coach noticed they weren't doing as great as they normally were and knew that it was because of the fact that even though the doctor said Ariel was fine, thanks to the crash earlier that school year most of the team  _needed_  to see with their own eyes Ariel alive and relatively well. Since the coach understood they would be pretty much useless until they could confirm for themselves that Ariel was alright she cut practice short that day, basically as soon as she saw Fairborne and hour into practice she finished it


	9. Chapter 9

"okay guys that's enough for today"

they all look at her and then notice Fairborne

"she's finally allowed visitors, however there are some restrictions, only five at a time due to the size of the room and only for five minutes each, understood?"

they all nodded simply happy that they could see Ariel again after the scare of yesterday. So they all pack up into personal cars and head to the hospital, once there her doctor says a few more things about her condition and rules they have to follow

"now then I'm sure captain Fairborne has already told you about the five people and five minute rule, however I'm adding another rule, she's still very tired and weak from the poison so if she starts to get tired all of you are to leave and let her rest"

"understood doctor"

and so the captain, coach and three others go into the room to see Ariel and though she was hooked up to several machines she looked happy to see themselves

"hey guys, I'm fine, I should be out within the next five days as long as my body takes to the antidote they're giving me for the poison"

"we don't know much but according to the coach you were shot?"

(sighs) "yes, I felt the bullet right before I put the ball in the goal, I knew I wouldn't last long considering where I was hit but I wanted to last long enough to hopefully score. According to the doctor I'm lucky I'm not dead"

"how lucky?"

"well let's just say it missed my heart and lung by five millimeters each and leave it at that"

"works for us, now then you are to take it easy for two weeks?"

"yes and it makes sense because of the fact that I was  _shot_  that means major injury"

and so she catches everyone up and is also caught up and then the team had to leave but before they did the captain returned to say one last thing to her before she slept

"I'm glad you're alive Kerenai I don't know what we'd do without you"

"I know captain, I know"

and so they leave and Ariel is left to heal. Two weeks later she was back on the field looking normal, though it was decided and agreed upon that for the first game she wouldn't be allowed in until the second half and would be pulled from the game at anytime if they felt she was unwell

*guys I have an idea to use for the first half*

everyone looked to Ariel hoping it was a good plan

*keep changing positions as much as possible to confuse them, once I'm in we go back to normal positions that should confuse them long enough for us to score a few times*

*won't the plan actually guarantee victory?*

*you've been practicing Mark but no it won't think we're in the semi-finals they're too good for that*

*you win*

and so that's exactly what they do and their opponents were pretty confused, once Ariel was on the field they pretty much stood no chance of succeeding because of the fact that since Ariel couldn't hear anyone it meant that she had her own plans. In fact for the first part of her being on the field she immediately passed to other teammates whenever she was given the ball even though her team  _knew_  she was a solid player. What they didn't know was that Ariel knew that as soon as she showed her real skills she'd be marked like no one else so she had to avoid getting marked too early in the game to be ineffective. Half way thorough the second half Ariel finally made her move when she was yet again passed the ball

"you guys can't win against me"

and suddenly she passed three people who had gone after her because she had the ball. She made it over halfway to the goal when she knew she had to pass and pass she did, only to get into great position to receive another pass, which she then shot at the goal and made it. After that she always had two marks minimum on her at all times making it much more difficult to pass to her but the entire team managed, thanks to her earlier trick of pretending to be a weaker player. Once the game was over her opponents complimented her about the fact that she had completely fooled them into thinking she wasn't confident in her own skills

"the whole switching around of the players thing also confused us"

"to be honest I wasn't quite sure how things would work out because you guys are good enough to be here like we are"

"well good luck with your next opponents if you win you're going to states next right?"

"that's the plan"

"it's amazing that this year they're going to have a national tournament for the entire country which means the best of the best of each region is going to be there"

"yeah it will definitely be interesting to see how we do against the country if we get that far"

and so they wait a few days before finals for the county. While they wait they go to school and inform their teachers about the possibility of them going to state, so their teachers gave them all assignments they might miss should they go to state because they knew that it would be a month before regions if the won state. Finally it was time for the county finals


	10. Chapter 10

"guys I want to be in for the full game period minus injuries if I get them"

"are you sure Ariel?"

"positive after all I highly doubt they've played against a deaf person, you know how I change the dynamics of the game because of being deaf"

"true and I don't really think people know you're deaf in the first place either because you hide it so well"

"coach? I also want John and the captain to sit out until the second half if at all possible"

both of them started to protest that until Ariel explained

"guys both of you have the same observation skills I have it would be best to use that to our advantage by keeping you off the field for now. Once you've analyzed our opponents you can come onto the field and help out"

(sighs) "when did you figure out that the two of us decided to help you analyze our opponents?"

"the first game you guys did it, now then not only was it only subconsciously I also knew that up until now that I would be noticing the same things so it was pointless for you guys to mention you could analyze the opponents as well"

"what's changed?"

"this is to go to states, from here on out we'll need observers off the field as well because even I will be too absorbed into playing to  _really_  take notice of habits"

"you win"

as it turned out Ariel didn't notice a very important habit due to the fact that she really  _did_  have to focus on her playing so that their opponents didn't get the upper hand. Once it was half time the coach took three off due to the fact that they were injured

"okay there's something you didn't notice Ariel"

"what?"

*they stayed in their positions until they absolutely had to move up*

*you mean they can play each others spots but they aren't comfortable with it*

(smirks) *exactly*

*anything else?*

*they're up to something don't know what but the way they play when they're in their zone tell me they're up to something*

*what do you think I've been trying to prevent this entire time?*

"okay John Mark you're on Melissa you're on too"

"yes sir"

and so they continue and they barely win but they were going to states

"good luck"

"thanks we'll do our best for those who can't play"

"so states are in two days and you have to be there at least a day early to make sure you're properly registered and in a hotel"

"exactly so we're leaving tonight"

and so they leave and get to a hotel and are actually fine until the next afternoon when suddenly armed people came in and take over the hotel. Ariel who was trained to handle these types of situations and in fact had lived through being a hostage actually panicked for a few minutes and actually had to think about calming down to be effective

" _calm down, calm down, calm down, if you don't calm down you're going to be useless...okay that's right yo need to be able to think make them think you're harmless due to you being deaf and later prove them how wrong they are_ "

and so she quickly does calm down and her team actually helps her plan saying that she was deaf so one of them needed their hands free so that they could sign what Ariel needed to do , unfortunately it didn't work out like they planned but at least their captures ignored Ariel as a useless deaf

" _that's right ignore the deaf person she can't do a thing against you even tied up since she doesn't know what's going on_ "

they take everyone to the basement and lock them in so as to keep them out of the way for whatever it was they were planning. That's when the team revealed the truth to the rest of the hotel guests oh and the hotel workers that didn't already know as well

"so Ariel did you catch any of their plans before they made sure to keep their backs to us?"

"not really sorry, but now that we're in one location I got something good in min d"

"Oh?"

"yep and I need everyone's help to do it, but we  _do_  have one slight problem at the moment"

"what's wrong?"

"I need a gun to help complete the plan"

"can you even use one?"

"yes I have a permit to own several different types of guns and normally I would have them but, they're all in service at the moment"

"so first we need to escape"

"yep and I have just the plan to do so we use the air vents to our advantage"

"works for us"

"wait there's still something we need to discuss"

"what?"

Ariel suddenly looks sad as if she knew something others didn't she then looked happy if only for a brief moment before she got a serious look on her face

"who's staying here? I know all of us want to escape but if they don't hear from some of us when they check on us they'll figure out we've escaped and then everything those that escape do will be for nothing"

and so ultimately they drew lots to decide who would stay and who would go naturally Ariel was one of the people who would go because of the fact that it was essentially her plan. What they didn't know was that Ariel had lied about not knowing about any of the enemies plans

" _it's better that they don't know about the bombs and the fact that I've given everyone else my full protection with my powers leaving me with essentially none to protect myself. I will die before I let them be killed I will take care of the bombs myself or if I can't I will die fighting the enemy. Good thing they can't feel the powers unless I truly let them and its' also a good thing that this time I've given them so much of my shields that even if I die they won't dissipate for several more hours_ "

and so they start the plan and actually manage to take two gunmen down and give Ariel the gun and extra clips before she had to start shooting because the rest had actually caught on. They split up for a brief moment actually giving Ariel enough time to defuse the three bombs that they had. Once they were back together it was time for more shooting and then Ariel took a lethal shot meant for her captain

"captain...I trust...the group...to you"

she passes off her gun to her captain as she's dying

"go...free the...hotel, let...the police...in...he..."

she wouldn't finish her sentence because she was basically dead the rest of the group did as asked though and managed to get the police in the hotel that's when they found out about the bombs and the fact that Ariel had given up her powers for them


	11. Chapter 11

"I have three bombs that I will detonate now!"

and so he does indeed detonate them only to find out they didn't work

"what's going on?"

suddenly they hear a prerecorded message with Ariel's voice on it that she would have disabled had she survived

"if you're hearing this message then I'm dead however I will let you know this I'm the one who defused your bombs they won't work, period you lose"

"if I can't kill everyone I'll at least kill your coach"

he took the coach captive due to her proximity and then shoots her point blank. Only to have nothing happen to her and him being q down by a German Shepherd from behind

"how are you not dead? I shot you at point blank"

"I don't know either I fully expected to die just now"

suddenly everyone hears something causing the police to raise their guns at the intruder who reveals themselves to be a very much alive but in reality almost dead Ariel Kerenai

"that's...my doing...I used...my arranyan...shields...I...wanted...to...protect...everyone"

with that she passes out and her pulse is checked showing that she truly was dying that time. Thus she is rushed to the ambulance and from there the hospital where the manage to save her life. Three weeks later Ariel was finally released but would not be able to play regional but she could be abler to play nationals if she listened to doctor's orders

"take care Ariel"

"I will so after tow weeks I'm allowed to play full time as long as I listen to my body?"

"yes"

"understood"

and so she goes home to catch up on what schoolwork she missed. Once that was done she simply observed practice while finalizing a few things in regards to her now official soccer camp and also she was secretly recruiting people for her Freedom group with the help of Fairborne and the rest of the EDC. Those she was even more selective about and so far things actually seemed to be going well mainly because the Scretents were still not really doing anything but Ariel was now ready to spring into action should it be necessary. What  _she_  didn't know was that she was being scouted by many pro soccer teams who wanted her not just for her playing skills, though that was still a major part of it, but also because of her extreme loyalty to both her team and making sure the opposite team was safe as well

"there's just one question still in regards to Kerenai"

"yeah will she  _want_  to leave this early? I know she's behind by two years thanks to a few issues that very few people are aware of"

"you know we could offer her continued education until she can pass the GED with the test happening occasionally to see just how far along she is"

(shakes his head) "no she needs these last two years before we take her, if she is still pro material by the time she graduates"

"why does she need these two years?"

"simple because of the fact that frankly she needs to be able to socialize with people and her being in high school will help her to do so"

"even if her peers are at least two years younger than her when she graduates?"

"yes she already socializes well with older people when not in school, she needs to be with younger people  _in_  school to help her be balanced"

"very well then I guess we'll simply have to keep an eye on her to see how she does in the future and if we're satisfied at the end of her high school career we offer her a pro contract with the understanding that she does have to work for the government t times due to that special contract we were told of"

"then we're agreed"

and so the continued watching her to see if she lived up to her potential. A week later Ariel was on the bench in support of her team because even though she couldn't play she would do her best to support them throughout the games of the regional to go to nationals

"come on guys you're better than this show them our teamwork!"

the rest of the team seem to ignore Ariel not noticing that what they were doing was exactly why they were having problems in the first place

"coach what time is it?"

"it's now two-thirty in the afternoon, the game's been going on now for half an hour and soon it will be half time"

"so it's now 1430 and they  _still_  haven't scored a goal because they aren't acting like a team"

"that's the sum of it"

"when I get my hands on them..."

"cool it Kerenai if you still feel like you need to yell at them do it in sign language the last time you yelled on the bench we almost got disqualified because you're neither the coach or the captain"

"fine but I can't wait to get back on the field even for just five minutes they're missing obvious things because teamwork has somehow broken down"

finally half time whistle blew and the coach knew that Ariel was going to give a piece of her mind to the rest of the team after she did

"you guys aren't doing so well are you?"

"they seem to know our tactics that's why we're doing so poorly"

suddenly they saw Ariel looking mad so they decided to pay attention to her and by the way she signed they could tell she was frustrated

*not true, they good but you better. You have no teamwork right now, they do thus you lose. You not listen to me. You not listen to coach, you simply not listen. I play with you guys if allowed. Get act together, be team, that's all I'm saying to you*

with that she folds her arms and goes silent, but she definitely had what would later be described as a death glare. They are soon back on the field but it was obvious something was distracting them but nobody really knew what. Suddenly though the captain finally understood what Ariel was talking about when he decided to stay in the back because he wasn't too happy with the people in his normal position at them moment. They literally had no teamwork and it was costing them severely, once he had the ball he deliberately kicked it out of bounds so that they had a chance to talk

"guys Ariel's right we have no teamwork something's causing us to fight and I don't like it. If we don't get our act together we lose plain and simple and our fight stops here"

they all look at each other and realize that the captain was right. Something had happened to cause them to suddenly not be a team anymore. The goalie figured it out first

"I think I know what happened now that we're thinking straight captain, we've been drugged and hypnotized during the night I believe Ariel isn't affected because she can't play"

"and she let out the frustration of us not working as a team like we normally do out on us during the half time break"

"she said something about teamwork at one point, I say its' time we show our foes just how good a team we are"

"let's do it then"

suddenly their opponents had a  _much_  harder time fighting them because of the fact that they were now a  _team_  which meant they were much more organized than before

"we're going to nationals so that Ariel can play and nothing's going to stoop us"

and so they finally managed to score and they continued scoring after that, succeeding in winning the first round of the competition. They would continue winning and make it to the finals of the regional. It was also a big day for Ariel's team because due to a schedule mix up, she had been given the go ahead to play three days earlier by the local doctor's and she would be out on the field for as long as possible. There was also the fact that the old captain had just graduated the day before because of the schedule mix up. His diploma had been mailed to his house along with the only other senior and he received notification over the phone. Making it possible for him to make a very important decision he had been thinking of ever since the beginning of the new soccer season

"Ariel front and center!"

she quickly goes to the front

"what's wrong captain?"

"you're out of uniform Ariel"

"what?"

suddenly he takes off the captain mark symbolizing his position on the team and puts it into Ariel's hand

"you're captain now Ariel and unless the coach says otherwise you're the captain until you graduate"

"how long have you...I mean how come...I mean..."

"I've known since the beginning of the spring soccer season you would become captain after me, you have the skills and the mindset despite not being on the team for very long. Our previous captain also saw the natural leadership in you that your family the Autobots taught and raised you in"

(gasps) "you know about..."

"yes we've known for several months now but never said anything due to being sworn to secrecy. As I was saying even the old captain saw your leadership skills and talked to me about it and with the coach's permission we decided that after me, you would be the next captain. Since the old captain knew I was also a senior this year the whole me being captain was a contingency but still we were subconsciously grooming you for this day Ariel"

she looks at the captain mark and then puts it on


	12. Chapter 12

"I'd be honored to serve as your captain, but I think the officials should be informed before the game so that they're not confused"

the coach speaks up

"oh we took care of that as soon as we go confirmation Mark graduation"

Ariel then turns to face the team as captain for the first time

"for now the plan is simple but decisive, we give it our all and use all the tactics that we can, I will be with you on the field for as long as I can but if need be I will leave" (turns to the old captain) "Mark I want you on the bench, if I fall the team will need the leadership skills you gained by being our captain for so long. Everyone else on the bench you're to be ready at a moments notice as well, this is the regional finals who knows what will happen on that field"

"captain will it be like very other time you're on the field? Where we modify our plans according to what you think of while on the field"

(shakes her head) "no this time we have no plan except what I have already told you with the finals I highly doubt we'll get any real opportunity to make real plans that won't fall apart once we try to implement them

"so from here on out there's no plan besides do our best?"

"pretty much, oh wait I do have one other order for you guys in regards to being on the field use whatever advantage you can get out there but  _please_  don't do anything stupid that could get you red carded out of the competition"

*is sign language out of the question as well?*

*I have been practicing with the EDC officers that know sign language and even  _they_ can't use it while playing soccer*

*so basically unless we can make use of it during break it's out*

*pretty much now then I just saw the clock and we have a minute to gather for the start of the game*

and so they finally leave the soccer room and head out onto the field. The opposite team was sort of surprised that Ariel was now captain and even the announcers stated it was surprising to change captain right at the start of the regional finals

"this simply doesn't happen very often even if it's passed high school graduation changing captain in the middle of the season just simply doesn't happen often because it could confuse the team"

" _no the team won't be confused by the changing of the guard, they're too used to both of us acting like captain that everyone knows what to do at all times and now to follow both our orders no questions_ "

and so their opponents actually get first shot at the goal but since Ariel had really only given two simple orders to follow in regards to playing they all knew what to do starting with the forwards blocking the path as best as possible to give the defenders time to solidify their defense

"I'll bring up the ball no matter what guys just give me the opportunity to do so"

"on it captain for now run"

and so Ariel starts running and the team actually manged to steal the ball away from their opponents naturally that's when the real battle started. They played their hardest and neither side was getting a goal but right before the half time whistle blew Ariel finally got a goal in but it cost her the rest of the game because right before she shot the ball she twister her left ankle. They got back to the bench and started talking about the net half of the game and what they should do for it

"so captain will the second half be like the first?"

*no Mark I need you to take my place on the field*

*what's wrong?*

*twisted my ankle can't play like this well technically I could but then I could do irreparable damage to my ankle and be unable to play soccer ever again*

they all nod their understanding and so once the whistle blew Mark was on the field which changed the game drastically. Their opponents thought that things would stay the same even with the changing of players but that wasn't actually the case, because Mark had a completely different style of playing whenever Ariel was off the field and everyone on the team knew that there was  _definitely_  a difference between the Ariel plan and non Ariel plan there always had been and always would be, because frankly you can't tell a deaf person what to do while they're in the midst of playing except during breaks. Things were actually going well for Ariel's team when suddenly there was an explosion and then a person right in the middle of the field

"I'm sorry but I can't allow this to continue in the name of the Scretents!"

suddenly there were several more people with guns but that's actually when Ariel decided to step in

"I'm sorry I can't allow you guys to kill everyone here for your own sakes, arranyan teleportation!"

with those words suddenly everyone but Ariel and the Scretents were gone

"what's going on here?"

"oh that's simple I've gotten everyone away from the blast/fighting zone, oh and you won't be able to do any damage outside of the stadium I've done a reverse shield in regards to my powers. You see normally attacks and people can go out from the shield but can't go in, but this time people could come in but not get out. However by the time anyone gets here you guys will have already detonated the bombs if my thoughts on how this was supposed to work is correct but then again I don't really know your plans"

"so you couldn't escape yourself?"

"oh I could have easily been gone in two seconds however I chose to stay"

"whatever for?"

"this arranyan swords"

and suddenly she rushes at them with two swords one in each hand that's when they decide to detonate the bombs and everyone outside the stadium saw and heard the explosion. Once the dust cleared every single soccer player wanted to go in and check on Ariel but the police prevailed with reasoning. Both teams were definitely not happy but they understood that the area needed to be cleared of all explosives before anyone could go in, three minutes later they got a very welcomed surprise. Ariel came out from the building looking dirty and having been near the explosion and she was also definitely limping but alive

"hey guys the people who interrupted the game are dead suicide bombing"

"and just how are  _you_  not dead Kerenai? I know for a fact that...wait don't answer your last name tell the entire story how much did you have to use?"

"for the stadium a good portion of it, for myself because I was born with the power I only needed 1/8th of it to keep myself from getting killed"

the coach speaks up

"and what was it you told us earlier about your ankle? Or do you simply not want to play soccer ever again?"

"easy coach I now have a brace on it and I'm also trying not to put any pressure on it, basically I'm walking on my toes and the ball of my foot"

"we'll get you to a hospital soon Kerenai, is there anything else you need to tell us?"

"not that I'm aware of, at least nothing I can tell you in an unsecured setting"

(hisses) "I understand I'll talk to you again later then"

and so she's taken to a hospital where it's found out she was correct the ankle was not broken but it  _was_  sprained pretty badly she would be lucky if her ankle healed by the end of nationals

"man do I wish I knew how yo twisted your ankle this badly"

"it's called soccer I twisted it as I was trying to get in a goal, and now that I think about it I succeeded too, but I also had to avoid someone at the same time so yeah twisted my ankle while shooting the ball and avoiding someone at the same time, from how much it initially hurt I'm down for a month, month and a half if my ankle decides not to heal at a normal rate"

"sorry but you're estimates are wrong you're down for at least a month and a half, two to two and a half depending on if the ankle takes longer"

"and you said it's not broken with even a hairline fracture?"

"we're sure but you did something to your tendons that we're not entirely sure how they got there in the first place"

"hm let me see the x-rays because I might be able to explain some of that"

"including the chip in your back that we did as a precaution when we heard you were in an explosion?"

"yes that too, since you need to know my medical history to make accurate treatments and time estimates"

and so she sees the x-rays and instantly knows what's going on

(sighs) "well I know I never tore my tendons before and that's the only new damage I can see, the rest is the result of being held captive by essentially terrorists for ten years. And yes in a way the chip is there because of my ten years in captivity, you see months before my rescue I had broken my back and decided to let it heal naturally and be as still as possible. My rescuers didn't know that of course and on the way to a German hospital I wound up losing use of my legs"

"so this is pretty much a normal x-ray minus the torn tendons?"

"yes"

"okay then you are correct with only torn tendons unless they take longer to heal you'll only be gone for a month, month and a half at most"

"so crutches or will a simple boot work?"

"crutches sorry but even if you had a boot I am  _not_  liking how those tendons tore so I want you off of the ankle as much as possible"

"understood"

and so a few hours later she's released from the hospital and all of them could tell that she wasn't exactly happy with the sate of her ankle but they also knew she accepted it without complaint


	13. Chapter 13

"well looks like I'm on the bench for the nationals guys sorry"

"not your fault you saved our lives"

"so when's the rescheduled game going to be?"

"at least a week all the other stadiums are booked right now so we might have to ask a high school to give up their field for the rest of regional however they need to search around and actually have permission which means a lot of calls need to be made"

"well I have to go some where's for a few days, coach it's in regards to the special project I talked to you about not that long ago"

"checking on the final touches before it opens?"

"that's exactly what I"m doing, that and hopefully I'll be able to greet the first team personally"

"okay see you in a few days then"

and with that she leaves, first to the station to tell them what she couldn't in the hospital or where the explosion happened and then she would be catching a plane to where her new soccer camp was. At the station

"so what's going on?"

"have you ever heard of an organization called the Scretents?"

"no should we have?"

(sighs) "not really but I was hoping you would have it's a terrorist organization that's trying to use soccer as a means to cause trouble. I can't really get into it more because of the danger you would be in but the people that bombed the stadium they claimed to be part of the Scretents"

"understood any precautions we should take?"

"can't really think of anything at the moment except to inform every soccer association you can think of about the group"

"will do"

and so she then goes to the airport and was told that she was the only other pilot except for the fact that she currently couldn't use her foot properly

"I'll do what I can though, and if need be I'll disobey doctors orders and yes I do have the special glasses required of me by the FAA" (Federal Aviation Administration)

and so things actually are smooth that flight and they were actually a little early because of the winds they caught on the way. Once on the ground she was met by an EDC officer that was actually now part of Freedom, he was not one that she had handpicked that was Fairborne but she trusted Fairborne's decisions so she went along with it

"you're here for two reasons aren't you?"

(sighs) "yes I am, I will be glad to see the finishing touches on the camp and maybe welcome the first team on camp grounds but for now I need to officially activate Freedom"

"so we've run out of time"

"yes the terrorist war has started all with the attack at regional finals"

and so they get to the camp and Ariel checks the grounds and sees that the final touches were going to be completed within the next day or two. Once inside she went to the kitchen and literally turned the switch sideways where an opening in the floor showed up, both went down to an elevator that went below ground. Once there they went down a hallway, pushed against the last wall, placed a special phone on the keypad and walked into a room with several people already in it. Ariel was pleased to see a green light flash to inform everyone that people had just entered the room

"okay everyone I know that we're still technically working on some final touches but I don't know if you detected an explosion recently where I was supposed to be. The explosion was caused by Scretents as of now Freedom is now active, that means any and all soccer teams or individuals can and will be called up for a mission at any time, all missions are approved by the base commander that is here when the issue arises, if there is no base commander then the person who detects the problem has the authority of a base commander. If there is no Freedom team or member nearby I am to be alerted and you are to call the local police. I am to be called if I am the nearest person to the issue because this is my resistance unit and I expect to be active in Freedom matters however possible. Alright people for now let's start calling our teams and individuals to let them know that they are now activated as Freedom members"

"sir what about the soccer team you're with right now?"

(sighs) "no they won't be apart of this, maybe next year when we aren't in the middle of a finals battle but not until then. Heck I may decide that they simply don't have what it takes"

"and if you go pro?"

"if I like what I see I'll offer it to them but if not it's not happening"

"so what next?"

"for now we simply inform Freedom members that we're now active, after that I don't know"

"very well should we think about getting someone on the inside?"

"that's something I'm still debating on, it might be good for us to have insider information but for now let's hold off"

"safety concerns?"

"like you wouldn't believe, if we try and get someone on the inside they'll have to be believable enough that they don't like the way soccer is being played currently and that they also don't like how the world is currently being run"

"so the one who goes undercover is gong to essentially have split personality to be able to handle being a bad guy and also being a spy"

"that's exactly what I'm saying"

"okay so anything else we need to know?"

"not that I can think of I'll be staying here until the new team gets here as long as that's within five days, how's the mountain entrance working?"

"it's going great no one ever takes that path and you've hid it well enough that even if anyone should stumble across that route if you don't know what you're looking for you'll never find the entrance. I was actually late today because I forgot what to look for and I'm trained for that"

"okay then I'm going topside and overseeing what's left of making the camp a reality"

"see you when you can get down here then"

and so for the rest of her stay Ariel stays above ground and does actually meet the first team to use her soccer camp


	14. Chapter 14

"well I have to get back seeing as how the regional finals will be starting in about two days'

"wait um question why did your coach and captain allow you to come in the first place?"

"for one I'm two years older than most of my teammate's and for another I'm now captain so if I don't get back in time we may be disqualified either that or Mark will have to temporarily take the captaincy back"

suddenly a worker came over to her for one final signature stating that they were the only ones who were allowed to do repairs on the grounds, basically she had to finalize a contract

"and finally this is her camp so she decided to oversee the final touches before the camp was opened to essentially the soccer public. Can you give your final signature for the contract now?"

"give it here and I'll do so, oh by the way I have a question about how the maintenance thing will work is it only once a month, once a week how often?"

"it's once a month"

"understood and your phone numbers are..."

"in the kitchen per your request"

"okay then everything's finished now I really do have to catch a plane. You guys know the camp rules right?"

"yes we know them"

"okay then we're all set"

and with that Ariel leaves to catch a plane in time for the regional finals. She gets back the night before the game was to commence

"good thing you told me the hotel you guys were at"

"agreed otherwise you would have never found us"

the next day it was time for the regional finals. Once the handshaking was over Ariel went straight to the bench

"you guys know what to do out there, let's make it to nationals guys"

*captain there's something I need to talk to you about*

*what?*

*a new attack plan it's supposed to be done with you but since we can't I want to run it by you*

*what's the plan?*

*everyone except the goalie moving up in a v form passing to one another and making sure we don't get flanked*

*at the right time go for it, if it doesn't work it doesn't work*

and so they start the game this time it was their turn to start the kick off and boy was the first five minutes interesting, no one knew where the ball was or who had it because of how may people were going after the ball at once. Finally the opponents moved forward with the ball making the team quickly move back to try and protect the goal seeing as how only the goalie was doing so at the moment. Unfortunately they would manage to get a goal in but that just meant they were good. For the first half no one knew who would win because one team would get a point and then the other team it just simply kept going back and forth. Finally though during half time Ariel's team decided to use the new tactic at just the right moment when they had the ball. They used it near the end and won the regional

"so nationals are next huh?"

"yep they start in a week in DC so as soon as we're packed we're taking a plan to the capitol to get settled and so some sight seeing"

well before that happened as it turned out they went through the pool side entrance and Mark who knew better decided to push Ariel into the pool seeing as how for the day she wasn't bandaging her ankle and frankly he knew she missed swimming. Unfortunately when she got out her hair was covering one of her eyes and the other eye had the cliché anime look of anger

"um I think I'm in trouble"

"Mark  _never_  do that again"

"sorry"

and so Ariel actually uses her powers to quickly dry off so that she wasn't soaking wet when she got back to her room and then packed up. Finally they were in the airport waiting for their flight when they ran into an old friend that Ariel hadn't seen in a very, very long time

"Ariel is that you?"

"John?"

"Ariel...you are alive"

"John you're EDC?"

"yep have been since seventeen...kind of had to join at that age really"

"what for and what about parental permission?"

(sighs) "what parents? They were killed in a Quintesson attack the day before I turned seventeen the town was made into a camp and if not for the fact that the EDC took back the town after two months I would probably be dead by now. Once they freed the town I decided to go for my GED and then I volunteered to help rebuild the town. During the rebuilding process there was another weaker attack and I picked up a gun to defend the town, after that battle the EDC made me an offer join them at seventeen and have an actual home and people to mentor me, or move in with a foster family until I could take care of myself or turned eighteen and could legally make my own decisions. Apparently they knew I no longer had any family left thus the reason they made me the offer, as you can see I decided to join the EDC and that's when I found out about you being alive"

"I see so you no longer play soccer then"

"actually I volunteer with my local soccer club whenever I can"

"that's nice to hear well we're off to nationals"

"see ya around Kerenai"

and so the team boarded the plan and several hours later were in DC. As soon as Ariel entered the airport she could instantly feel her ankle getting healed by her powers and as soon as she saw one of the teams she understood why it had happened. No once on the team noticed by she suddenly had an anime not good face on her

" _this is...kinda bad_ "

she continues to use the crutches but once thy were at the hotel she tells the team and the coach that she wanted her ankle to get checked out because of what had happened hours earlier not to mention the long fight. Once at the hospital they x-rayed her ankle and they were amazed to see that the ankle had completely healed itself in such a short time


	15. Chapter 15

"naturally there are some things that are permanent about how your ankle will look but the torn tendons are completely healed, you healed faster than expected"

"actually this isn't a good thing my ankle didn't heal naturally I'm afraid and unless you have at least EDC clearance level 3 I can't tell you anything else for everyone's safety"

"well you're medically cleared for soccer or anything else you want to do however I believe you know the rules regarding your health"

(nods) "I know if something doesn't feel right get myself off the field as soon as possible and let the ankle rest until I feel its' back to normal"

"that's right"

"will do"

and so she leaves without crutches and heads to the Smithsonian on the way she makes a very important call to Freedom HQ (headquarters) and since they were all given special clearance when they joined she could freely speak to them about her powers

"it's me I want you to check out a team for me...easy my ankle did a sudden heal due to powers and that's not normal I have a bad feeling about it actually...I want you to check out Scretents involvement if possible, and guys there's something else we need to find out if possible...if the Scretents are allied with Quintessons because if they are...exactly I'll call you if I find out anything on my end and naturally I want you to cal me if you find out anything on yours...okay bye"

and with that she hags up and meets the team at the space museum for lunch as planned

"what are you doing without crutches young lady?"

"simple coach my ankle healed faster than doctor's though it would I'm cleared to play soccer but I have to follow the normal rules"

"well we're gong to shock our opponents when you start on the field"

"actually that's something I want to talk to you guys about over lunch"

and so they go to a pretty private area to talk

"so what's up captain"

"I was wondering how would you guys feel if I stay on the bench unless absolutely necessary"

"what do you mean?"

"well we could say that while it appears my ankle has healed we don't want to push it too far too fast, and really that's the case because even though my ankle has healed faster than expected I haven't used it in so long that it's best for me to gradually get it back into play"

"she has a point"

"okay then that's what we'll do captain"

and so they start getting her ankle back into shape simply by walking around the museum. For the next week they lengthened their walks and noticed that Ariel could finally walk all day without having to stop and go back to the hotel. The next day though was the start of nationals so they knew that Ariel was definitely  _not_ playing if they could help it in the locker room everyone was ready to go when they noticed Ariel looking at a necklace/locket

"captain we're ready"

she closes the locket puts it back under her uniform and looks at her teammate's

"okay guys it's the fist round of nationals let's do our best and remember these are the best of the best in the country so don't be disappointed if we don't make it to the finals"

"then let's at least have a goal of making it to the third round"

"works for me"

and so the game starts and unfortunately the team went up against a Scretents team from the star. So as soon as she got an opportunity Ariel yelled something that to their opponents seemed like nonsense but to the team made perfect sense, because they had actually talked about it before but had never actually put it into practice until now

"guys plan delta 1"

as soon as they heard that the team knew what to do but everyone though the same thing

" _is she insane?_ "

the goalie kicked the ball out of bounds and then moved to the forward position while the lead forward moved to the goal once that was done the next part was a little bit more complicated. The team now had to act as if their captain was on the field and thus were compensating for her and adapting to her plan. What they didn't know was that the plan saved them and also allowed them to ultimately win though it was a very hard win. After the game Ariel turned on her phone and listened to a very important message which she found she didn't particularly like but had to live with anyways all things considered

(sighs) "I'm ultimately going to regret doing this but I really have no choice at the moment considering..."

they all go to the hotel happy and excited for the next opponent when Ariel speaks up

"guys meeting in my room in fifteen minutes coach I need to talk to you privately before the meeting it's important"

and so the coach and captain go to her room

"what is it Kerenai?"

"you know how I listened to a message on the way back?"

"yes you know I'm amazed the glasses can tell you what's being said"

"yeah well that's not why I called you here I called you here about the message I'm putting Mark in control of the team for the rest of nationals depending on how long I'm gone"

"say what?"

(sighs) "coach I'm being serious here I have to leave Mark in charge there's something I haven't told you yet the team we played against is part of a terrorist organization that I aim on stopping with an anti-terrorist group. That was the phone call earlier, you see I had them check on something important in regards to the terrorist group, they think there might be information but I'm the only one who's really close enough to check on the lead. There's something else you should know, if I'm right then the terrorist group is allied with Quintessons and that isn't a good things at all"

"I understand how will you explain this to the team?"

"I'll tell them I have something to check on at my camp something that needs my personal attention and it could take a few days, there's something else you should know. If the Quintessons  _are_ involved I may have my powers sealed and you may or may not feel the difference they've tried sealing my power before bu tailed but this time...they might actually succeed and if they do..."

"I understand Kerenai, now then its' almost time for you to tell the team you're going to be gone"

and so they finally meet and Ariel gets straight down to business

"hey guys something's happened at the camp that I need to personally take care of and I don't know how long it will take"

"so what's going to happen to us?"

"Mark you're the captain again until and if I return"

and so Ariel passes the captain mark to Mark signifying that he was once again the captain

"what about the association?"

"I'll tell them before I leave tonight"

"when do you leave?"

"1830 hours is the scheduled time but you never know if there are delays"

(sighs) "and 1830 equals...what?"

"6:30 pm it may seem like a late night flight but to me it won't be"

"what would a late night flight be for you?"

"um..I actually don't know now then I have to get ready for the flight so please leave"

and so they leave and Ariel brings out a very special bag that she had before her captivity and now had again since she was back in the real world

"so I have food, water, rope, explosives, night vision goggles, flashlights, batteries, blankets, gloves, lock picks, ammo, spare clothes, knife, hook and several other things that I don't think most people have, looks like my everything bag is ready for the mission"

and so finally she gets to the airport and waited for the plane to be ready. Finally the plane left the airport headed in the opposite direction from her camp. Three hours later she landed at her location and since her everything bag was a carry on (the explosives were allowed because of her permit) she could instantly leave the airport. Once in town she started her investigations and they would take an interesting turn that she wasn't fully prepared for, she was suddenly knocked out on the way to a business that was a bit shady to Freedom. Two hours later she woke up in an unknown location tied up and gagged

" _OK_   _now what am I to do, I am bound and gagged and I am not happy_ "

and so she tries to take a look at her surroundings but before she could Quintessons showed up and showed her a message she did  _not_  like

" _we abducted you to prevent you from looking into the Scretents any further, oh and we've also sealed your powers Kerenai, that happened while you were unconscious_ "

well finally they leave and Ariel used her mind to escape, well except for the fact that they used chain to bind her hands thus she knew she had top go to the police to get herself unchained, but other than that she was home free. Late that night she finally made it to the police station

"I need to speak with any officer that knows how to handle these chains, oh and I lipread due to being deaf so you need to make sure that I can see your face whenever you talk"

she turns around and the first officer that sees it knew how to handle it but didn't have the right equipment

"OK I can handle this but I need to get my equipment first"

"understood, could someone else call the EDC and inform them of Quintesson presence in the town"

(hisses) "did you just say Quintessons?"

"yes"

"I'll inform them immediately"

and so she's finally freed and she immediately asks for a secured phone and room

"I have something I need to talk about and no one here is cleared for the conversation"

and so she's given both a secured phone and room and then she calls Freedom HQ

"hey guys its me I was abducted a few hours ago by Quintessons and told not to look into Scretents anymore, I think we can officially say tat Quintessons are part of the Scretents how I don't know but it's happening now then we can discuss more when I get my cell phone back because this isn't modified for a deaf person"

and with that she hangs up and leaves. Later that night she's given back her everything bag and also given a room to stay in for the night at a local hotel. The next day she heads to Freedom HQ to get a handle on some things that she wasn't sure of and also to give a full report to some people who would be affected by what she was going to say


	16. Chapter 16

"so there's something going on in Scretents in regards to Quintesson involvement but they will take anyone who tries to stop them captive so I don't know what to do about it except simply warn our teams, oh by the way how are they in regards to the now active fight?"

"things are actually going well, unfortunately you had to fight a Scretents team from the start and your team is not allied with Freedom but there are Freedom members in the stadium at all times as either a spectator or a player sometimes both"

"good now then I'm going to stay here for a few days to make sure the camp part is going well and then I have to get back to my team, that is if they don't finish before I get back

"once that happens you have summer break"

"exactly unless something happens without my knowing"

well the next day actually Ariel got a call on her cell phone that they had lost to another team, when Freedom checked it out it was discovered it was a Scretents team which explained the loss. For the rest of the summer Ariel relaxed at the camp just enjoying the players learning and polishing their skills. Finally it was time for her to be in her junior year of high school. When she got back it was time for team tryouts though everyone knew she would make ti an naturally be the captain, which she did, but she also had an eye on a potential upstart freshman that was doing pretty good handling himself. Tryouts would last a week instead of three days this year simply because of how many wanted to try out for the team, during the school day Ariel explained to the teachers about her lipreading and how they had to stay in front of her if she was to understand what was going on. On the field final tryout day

"...and that's why I need to leave practice early captain"

(sighs) "how many times do I have to tell you guys? I don't know what you're saying to me if your back is turned because I'm deaf"

and so the newcomer explains that he had a doctors appointment and thus needed to leave practice early so he was wondering if he could have the rest of his tryouts first

"sure we'll make sure you're thoroughly tested before you have the appointment, is it annual or what? I need to know so that I can accommodate any medical issues that the team may have as captain"

"oh I had to fight Lyme's disease last year, it was caught early enough that I didn't have to really go through intensive treatment for months no end, they just want to make sure I'm still disease free"

"ah so it's a basic blood test plus any other thing that needs to be done"

"exactly they're just making sure I'm still healthy"

"okay I'll tell the others know about your situation. Of course there are others who may make it and you won't but you'll find out within the next few days"

"thanks"

and so the newcomer finishes early and then the rest of the day actually went well and normal all things considered

"so the one newcomer who had to leave early did pretty god"

"yeah but the last person of the day who tested teamwork did better than he did"

"well there may be many number of factors in regards to that, I mean I did great in teamwork but that's because I  _wanted_  to be part of a team again, after having been essentially alone for ten years, and after a few weeks I finally cooled down my enthusiasm"

"true enough well for now we need to see the videos of everyone and come to a decision together though as captain you have the ultimate decision"

(shakes her head) "not quite, the coach decided that she also is going to make the decision"

"oh well then we'll trust both of you to do what's best for the team"

well a Sophomore decided they needed to speak up about two very important issues in regards to the captain

"captain what are we going to do if they have a problem with you being two years behind those your age and deaf?"

(sighs) "we tell them circumstances prevented me from being with those of my age and caused my deafness. We can't tell them the truth, you were told because of the shooting incident but other than that..."

"we understand"

and so finally everyone was chosen to supplement the group and the one person everyone doubted because of the doctor's appointment actually made it in as well

"so I made it"

"yes okay everyone practice right after school today first game in two weeks so we're going to make sure everyone's up to speed before the game. Returning members I need to talk to you real quick before school about an issue that popped up that involves you guys"

and so the rest of morning practice ended with announcements and then the returning members met with Ariel

"okay guys we're going to go up against the team you lost to during nationals these guys are  _dangerous_  so I want you to look out for the newcomers is that understood?"

"yes captain"

"captain is there something you're not telling us about our first opponents?"

(sighs) "even if I am I couldn't tell you guys just...just don't let your anxieties show when we go up against them in two weeks"

and so the school day started and two periods in she found out she had a sub so that meant she had to warn the teacher about her being deaf

"hey ma'am you need to keep me in your eyesight at all times if you turn around and talk you will have to repeat whatever you say"

"ah so you're the deaf student I was warned about"

"exactly"

"okay thanks for the reminder though"

"no problem"

the rest of the day went fine after school but before practice she made a very important call


	17. Chapter 17

"guys I need Freedom members in the stadium for my first game if at all possible...because of the fact that we're going up against the team my team lost to at nationals...okay but don't be too obvious unless you need to...no I still don't have my powers though I've tried...okay talk to you guys soon..okay thanks for the information bye"

and so once she was finished with the phone call she started practice when suddenly the coach said she had a very important phone call

"hello?...hey guys what's up...when did this happen...okay thanks for telling me...yeah I'll send out an e-mail...okay bye"

she hangs up gives back the phone and then gets back to playing. Once practice was over she got her laptop out and sent a mass e-mail out stating her camp was out of action for a few days while a water pipe burst was repaired. She then e-mailed the people who were contracted for the water pipe to make sure that they knew what was going on and that she wanted a report as soon as they were finished so she could check it out. She then e-mailed the principle to tell him that he would be missing a student within a few days so that she could check on repairs at her soccer camp,k, but he would receive an e-mail before she left. Once she was done with  _that_  she went over the EDC base for some hand to hand combat practice and also some target practice because you never know, oh and they tried once again to undo the sealing of her powers but they failed once again. And so the next two weeks are essentially the same practice, go to school, practice some more and then do the same thing the next day. Finally though it was time for the first match of the year

"well guys this is it, we're finally playing our first game of the year"

Ariel then takes out a locket and looks at a very unique picture that no one but the EDC might have seen before, the picture was of her after her first soccer game at the age of seven with her family as the EDC base. They had been so proud of her one goal because she had worked hard to get as good as she had in such a short amount of time. Then just a month later she would be abducted for ten years and lose her family in the intermittent time before she was found. The sad part to her was that just as she was found and confirmed alive her family the Autobots were killed and thus never found out about her being alive after so many years (she didn't know that they were now known as Cybertronians because of the reunion with the Decepticons and that they were alive). She puts the locket away and gets the team to line up beside their opponents for the first game of the season. Once they lined up in front of the person who would toss the coin she and the other captain shook hands and then decided which side of the coin they would choose

"heads"

"fine I'll pick tails"

the coin is tossed and the result is announced

"tails his team goes first"

"understood"

and so they have the kick off and then the battle really started. By ten minutes in three players had been replaced and Ariel knew it was only the beginning, fortunately with her on the field the were a bit more unpredictable than their opponents thought but still, it was getting nasty. By the time half time arrived Ariel knew that things were just going to get worse and that the Scretents would win yet another battle which frankly they couldn't afford to win because that just meant another foothold into the world of soccer and ultimately the world

"captain I think the refs are in on this"

(sighs) "that's not possible John, the problem is they're too slick to be caught that often cheating so instead we have to play a lot safer and smarter. I doubt they'll be caught with blatant cheating too often so instead we're gong to have to change tactics and unfortunately we can't change them the way I like because otherwise we might slip too close to blatant cheating ourselves"

"so what's the plan?"

(sighs) "for now strong defense and whenever possible go forward together to get the goals we need to win"

"but we're almost down to bare minimum amount of players on the field and no subs"

"I know but it's the only plan I've got for now"

suddenly Ariel found out the opposing captain wanted to meet with her

"okay what's this about?"

"there's something you need to know my team is part of a terrorist organization called Scretents"

"oh I already know that I'm the founder of an anti-terrorist organization called Freedom I founded it to fight the Scretents"

"yeah well they forced the coach's hand on being part of them, if not for the fact that his wife and daughter are in constant danger he would be doing his hardest yet at the same time playing fair"

"whoa wait a minute did you just say his wife and daughter are in constant danger? I mean can you be sure of that?"

"yes we can because we've seen the video tapes ourselves in fact I brought one here today to take to the police but I know believe you're better than they are to see it"

"show me"

"I can't break's almost over and I doubt your team is part of Freedom"

(groans) "you're right, okay well I might have a solution, there should be a Freedom member here at seat A 132 have security give the tape to him with a note to watch it immediately once he confirms it he can call HQ and get the ball rolling on a rescue"

"will do we have two minutes by the way"

"understood"

and so for the second half things went slightly smoother but it was still a pretty rough suddenly though their opponents received a strange hand signal from the coach...who had just gotten off his cell phone with someone that signal made the captain kick the ball out of bounds and then he spoke up

"ref we're forfeiting this match and the rest of the season we need...we need to relearn how to play within the rules instead of cheating without getting caught"

that announcement shocked Ariel and then she saw the captain smile a true smile for the fist time in a long, long while, though she didn't exactly know that

"they're free the coach's family is free and safe"

(smiles) "understood you did the right thing you guys are honorable and worthy opponents"

"thanks for the compliment but we're not honorable opponents yet, we will be though, well good luck in the rest of your games"

"thanks and good luck relearning how to play soccer the right way"

"don't worry I think now that the coach's family is safe we'll get back into the swing of things relatively easy"

well suddenly there were Scretents members with weapons and Ariel went straight for them seeing as how she only had hand to hand left besides weapons skills but her weapons were too far away and they were  _so_  close. She go shot in the shoulder but managed to take one down before she herself was knocked out. Two hours later she found herself chained to a wall, so she asked for a report from her vice-captain whom she could see was also chained to a wall opposite from her

"well we were all captured after they knocked you out, you were hurt captain why didn't you use  _it_  to protect yourself and stop them?"

"simple because I can't use  _it_  anymore, remember during nationals I said I had to check on something in regards to my camp?"

"yes and then we lost"

"well I lied I had something else to do instead, was captured in the meantime and Quintessons sealed  _it_  and the EDC and I haven't figured out how to  _un_ seal  _it_ "

"so basically you can't use  _it_  until you figure out the seal issue can you still you your brain?"

"but of course however right now I can't figure out a way out of these chains without  _it_  so we're stuck at the moment"

over the next few days Ariel figured out the pattern that the enemy had and actually came up with a plan

"okay guys I might have a plan however it could very well get us all killed since I can't use  _it_  but you know how they only have one person deliver the food and I'm actually unchained for that part?"

"what of it?"

"simple I use my fast reflexes and knock out the person delivering the food, take his weapon and we proceed to escape from their"

"um no offense but just how good are you to do something like that?"

"EDC training robot full power"

"you're kidding"

"nope I am not now come on guys let's get ready and remember we still might not make it out if we do this plan"

and so the time for dinner came and Ariel actually succeeded in knocking out the delivery boy. Once that was done she took his weapon and they actually managed to escape without any issues. Once at the nearest police station they told the police everything they would need to know about what was going on and what happened to them


	18. Chapter 18

_flashback_

Ariel had just knocked out the food delivery boy and then took his gun

"so can you handle that?"

"I've already told several members of my team that I have a permit to have guns on me, I'd prefer my own guns but I can handle almost any weapon I have in my hand so long as I have training"

"so what now?"

"hopefully we sneak away but we may not succeed, if that happens I use the gun as the deadly weapon it can be so that we can escape"

and so they actually make it out of the building undetected

"okay now what?"

"simple we head to the nearest police station and tell them what's happened"

"works for me"

and so they walk for several more hours until they reach the police station

_present_

"and that's basically what happened officers, I don't have my guns on me because I don't have my everything bag"

"geez Kerenai can't you make anything simple for us?"

"sorry but it's not my fault this happened"

"we know we know, now come on I believe you have more to tell us"

and so the police are told everything the group could think of. After that the police doctor insisted that Ariel went to the hospital to get her shoulder properly checked out from the shot she had taken a few days ago. At the hospital doctors were initially angry she had delayed treatment for so long until she explained she ha been taken captive by a terrorist group yet again

"well you should completely heal but you might have a permanent barometer due to the shoulder"

"understood anything else I should take into consideration playing soccer?"

"no just be careful in London or during summer or winter storms because the pain might get bad enough that you can't properly use the arm due to shoulder pain or immobilization"

"understood well thanks for taking care of the shoulder"

"no problem you should be fine for your next game by the way"

"thanks I'll call or go to the nearest hospital if I run into trouble"

and with that she goes out to her waiting teammate's

"I'm fine, and we're all going to play next game"

"OK my guys looks like we have a game in two days"

"got it"

and so they head to where the game was being held. This time they were playing against an ordinary team so that meant that freedom could take a break unless they were needed some where's in the field. While that was going on Ariel started to debate a major, major issue that had popped up recently within her teams ranks and it was an issue that she wasn't sure about what to do with considering it dealt with a lie that the team member believed true for the past year and a half shortly before she had started Freedom, but had found out to be a lie within the last month thanks to regular updates

" _am I dong the right thing hiding the fact that her father is actually alive, do I tell her the truth or do I continue to hide it until I have more information on his location?_ " (mental sigh) " _this my not be right but I'm going to hide it for now as is my right as Freedom founder_ "

she then makes a quick phone call that was really important

"you know how that one person we've been looking for has a kid? I have them on my team I won't tell them what we know and you won't either...did you forget I have final rights in regards to decisions due to being both the founder and the leader of the group?...I thought so...okay let me know when you do...okay bye guys...will do"

and so she hangs up and then turns off the phone before she broke it out of frustration and agner at the situation and her being forced to lie to a member of her team. The second in command came out to tell her it was time for the game and he saw the destroyed phone

"Ariel it's time"

"thanks I think I need to vent some frustration by kicking around a ball don't be surprised if we win the toss if I try a goal from where I stand"

"but..."

" _don't_  try and stop me Mike I am not particularly in the mood right now"

"about that you know you destroyed your phone right?"

"oh I know that was a burst of anger and frustration from my conversation, unfortunately I still have a lot of that pent up and playing soccer is the safest way for me to vent unless the game was canceled then I would go to a gym" (sighs) "come on let's go, and Mike if I start go get unstable out there you're to stop the game and pull me off the field"

"yes captain"

and so they start the game and Ariel actually made a goal from the halfway mark on the field. The opposite team was shocked that she did that, they didn't know how angry and frustrated she was at the moment. The game was rough on all of them because this was a semi-finals team for the region so they were very good and Ariel recognized their strength. She also kept in the back of her mind that they weren't her real targets finally it was half time and Ariel knew what to do


	19. Chapter 19

*okay guys I think I finally have a decent plan and no I'm no longer venting about something I can't talk about, anyhow the plan is to be as confusing as possible and then go for a coordinated attack. I know it seems impossible to do at the moment but it's the best idea we have and I feel like it could really work*

*anything else we should be aware of?*

they  _saw_  a moment's hesitation on Ariel's face and then it disappears

*no not that I can thunk of, but please watch out for injuries after all you can injure yourself with a basic tackle*

they all nod their understand and then they actually finish the game though Ariel twisted her ankle,  _again_ , but this time Ariel knew it would heal within two weeks but for the moment she was doing her best not to put any pressure on the ankle

"good game you guys right before the second half you might have gotten us due to my anger, but during the game I calmed down and realized I wasn't doing anyone any good that ways"

"we could tell, you're team is very good to compensate for your anger like they did"

"I actually asked my second in command to pull me off the field if he felt I was too emotional"

"looks like he didn't have to though"

"yeah but it was still a pretty close call"

"why were you so upset and angry anyways?"

"sorry but that's something I really can't telly you it's a combination of a private and team issue"

"Okay but..." (gets into her ear not knowing she's deaf) "I'm an EDC kid who has level 7 clearance"

he pulls away expecting her to reply but she doesn't

"you know if you just said something to me I can't hear you I'm deaf but I can lipread"

"sorry I'm an EDC kid with level 7 clearance I think I'm allowed to know what's up"

(shakes her head) "sorry but even if yo had the highest level clearance you could get I cant tell you because the issue is classified beyond what EDC kids...except me can be cleared for"

"hey you're a special case Kerenai"

"yeah well...the issue made me break my cell phone so now I have to get a new one"

"say quick question, did you get the e-mail the coach sent you recently?"

"yes I sent back a reply didn't she get it?"

(shakes his head) "no and she checks it religiously"

"tell her to check it again today and if she still can't find it tell her she has approval"

"will do"

and so Ariel goes to the nearest phone store once she got home and e-mailed all the coaches that had requested use of her camp the new number, she also let the people in Freedom and who took care of the camp know the new number just in case they needed to get a hold of her. Once that was done she decided to do some training and then she would meditate to see if she could undo the seal that the Quintessons had put on her that prevented the use of her powers. At the training center she found out a new group of cadets were there for some hand to hand combat training

"hey Ariel what to help train some rookies?"

"sure I'm a  _lot_  calmer than before"

"what happened to make you mad?"

"it's a combo of team and private issue but it made me mad and frustrated enough that I had to buy a new cell phone. I shattered my old one by throwing it against the wall after the call"

(whistles) "dang I haven't seen you that mad since shortly after your rescue and that was due to you seeing how the Autobots were obliterated by the Quintessons

"well it was just a burst of emotions that suddenly surged out from me, playing soccer allowed me to safely vent my emotions though. Before we train I want to know one thing first though, how new are the rookies at hand to hand?"

"this is there second week of training and their second day of full contract"

"okay than I can't use my full strength and speed"

"nope and you're also limited to the bare basics of hand to hand"

"okay that limits me pretty severely but I'll see what I can do, by the way have the doctors found a way for me to access  _it_  yet even partially?"

"sorry Ariel but that's still a no go"

"meh I was gong to go for meditation to try and access  _it_  tonight anyways guess I'll still do that"

and so she stats the training session and is visibly slow, they could tell that she wasn't moving even half her normal fighting speed. The cadet that went up against her could instantly tell that she was pulling her punches, but after the fight they could tell that she really was trying to help them because she pointed out a few weaknesses in his defense and also how his stance was really hurting him as well making him unbalanced and thus an easy target. Finally Ariel went home and went into extremely deep meditation to try and get her powers unsealed, but it doesn't work. Sunday came and she had to go to school for an extra day of practice and everyone noticed she was tired

"I'll be fine guys but I went into extremely deep meditation and that's not something I do often enough so it affected me"

suddenly though practice was delayed because Freedom members requested to see Ariel

"you know better than to come to my school"

"yeah well we were close when we finally got the information we wanted, we have a rescue plan HQ just confirmed it"

"hold on I'll tell her because even though she's not part of Freedom this is her father"

"sorry but not only do we have to move fast she's not cleared or trained she can't come"

(sighs) "how fast?"

"like now fast"

"okay let me tell my coach an excuse and we'll get going"

she goes to the coach


	20. Chapter 20

"coach something's up I have to go now"

"very well I'll continue practice and let you know what you missed"

and so she leaves with the group and they get to the location where the father was being held and they told Ariel the plan to rescue him

"good plan, and since I'm deaf I can pretend to ignore them, okay fifteen minutes before meeting up?"

"sounds like enough time"

"okay then let's bring a father home guys"

and so it actually took them twelve minutes to rescue the dad and regroup while causing massive computer and building damage. Unfortunately Ariel miscalculated the blast radius so all of them went for a short flight from the explosion

"okay let's not do that again eh?"

"agreed now then come on sir I believe I know someone who will be very happy to see you after so long"

"my family they're okay?"

"yes your daughter is actually on my soccer team and a great defense player"

(smiles) "that's great to hear okay do you guys have transportation to get me home?"

"no problem we parked the van about a block away from here" (looks back at the damage) "now here's to hoping that blast didn't destroy the car with debris"

"what exactly happened boss?"

"well...I sort of used experimental explosives for the EDC and miscalculated how much I needed, very big explosion occurred because of it"

"no kidding"

"I have a question how old are you?"

"I'm eight...no nineteen years old, I'm two years behind everyone else my age due to circumstances beyond my control and as for the possible boss question I founded the group that just rescued you thus the reason I'm called boss"

"okay so now to get home"

"exactly"

and sot hat's exactly what they do and the team member was shocked her captain came to her house

"captain what's wrong?"

"oh nothing really I just thought there's someone you'd like to see after a long time" (turns) "you can come out now"

and so a person comes out of the car and as they get closer the teammate recognizes the person

"dad? I'm seeing this right because dad's dead"

"no I'm not dead I was taken prisoner and rescued tonight by your captain and a few of her friends"

"I'll see you tomorrow at practice oh and don't tell anyone about me rescuing your dad it's a secret that I do this"

"understood captain"

and so the next day practice is on as usual when suddenly things changed due to a sudden challenge by a college that was visiting the area they wanted to check out high schoolers to see if they could potentially be college level players even at the freshman level

"when is it happening?"

"on Wednesday they decided that was when they would play against you guys"

"okay um they know about me being deaf right?"

"but I thought you wanted to use that fact to your advantage?"

"normally yes however with the fact that they're in college...they need to know so that I can properly communicate with them and so that nothing happens that everyone doesn't know about before hand, you know a sort of all rules are laid down and no one can contest them due to unfair advantages type thing"

"you know you have a point, but we can't inform them until they get to the school because they don't exactly have a cell phone amongst them this time they called using a hotel phone"

"understood"

and so she goes back to practice to inform the team of the Wednesday game

"so we're up against college kids?"

"yes but don't forget I should be in college too so don't be so intimidated"

"very well, let's go then"

and so the morning practice finishes and school starts up yet again but Ariel noticed that some of the teachers were looking a bit nervous, however she knew they couldn't of already heard about the match so it was something else instead. That afternoon after lunch she found out why they were so nervous, police officers were doing random drug inspection due to the fact that several schools were seeing a rise in drug use in student's. Once she saw the police dog she knew  _exactly_  what was going on and what she could do to help

"hey guys let's get the lesson done with and maybe I'll show you some math tricks I learned when I was younger to help with the stuff we're learning now"

the teacher mouthed a thank you to her which she just nodded in reply and they actually learned the lesson faster than they would have otherwise. Once the teacher was done Ariel showed them a few tricks to the type of problems they were learning that day, finally the class ended and the police were gone. After school Ariel quickly got the team focused for the match in only two days against college kids

"now then they'll probably be faster and stronger than you only because of their maturity levels, they  _are_  college students after all so that means they are older and have more training than most of you the only practice you guys have around college age kids is me and that's because of my special circumstances that I really can't explain to some of you"

"so all we can do is practice until we can't anymore?"

"unfortunately yes, that's the only plan I can think of to be able to fight them on a some what even playing field"

and so for the next two days they practice in the morning, go to school, practice in the evening and then do the same thing over the next day. Finally it was the day of the match and it was decided it would happen after school so nothing was seriously disturbed. Eery single soccer member was excited beyond normal levels but they managed to focus on school, Ariel made sure to focus on school because she was starting to think about leaving after her junior year to go to college or try out for a professional league but she was quite sure yet on what she would do, all she knew was that she wanted to continue being involved in soccer in some sort of way. That afternoon they got into their uniforms and then went to the field to meet the college kids


	21. Chapter 21

"welcome to our school"

"you know you look like you could be in college yourself Kerenai"

(sighs) "technically I should be in college I'm almost twenty years old now, but due to circumstances beyond my control I'm two years behind everyone else my age"

"well let's have a nice game I think league rules should apply for this game even if it's just a friendly match"

"agreed though I have to warn you because of my being deaf we play a little differently then most team"

"how so?"

"simple since I can't hear anyone calling for a pass I play it as I see things and sometimes that might mean acting weaker than I truly am to get the team to underestimate me, either that or I'll try to make a goal myself so that I'm the man target and another member of my team can sneak in an attack without them knowing how good my team really is. I will also make plans and ideas and tell them to the team in sign language, the official soccer association has approved it. Should I enter the pros they want to make sure it's already legal in high school"

"okay then let's get the game started with the coin toss"

and so the coin is tossed and the college kids win the kick off. That's when Ariel's team fins out just how out of league they were against college kids

"they're fast we might have to go to total defense captain"

"I know I could potentially make it but that would mean revealing something that I reserve for people attacking the games"

"well you might have to use your speed to score captain because we're going as fast as we can and the ball is always stolen from us"

Ariel thinks for a minute then nods in agreement

"all right but only to show them that I'm the only one who can handle them"

and so as soon as Ariel has the ball she quickly moves up an scores a goal before her opponents could really react

"there's only one way she can move that fast"

"how captain?"

"she's an EDC kid I've been around a few in my lifetime and all of them are fast they have to be"

"why's that?"

"giant alien robots and that's all I can tell you besides the fact that I've seen their speed save lives before staying overnight at an EDC base because a teammate asked me over"

"that will do it hey captain about this game maybe we should take it down to their level now"

"agreed because I think only Kerenai is an EDC kid not to mention should also be in college"

"how old is she?"

"nineteen but apparently circumstances have her two years behind everyone else her age"

"well let's ignore those two facts and treat all of them like high school kids"

and so that's why they do and everyone gets a workout and learn from each other as well

"these...guys...are good"

"yeah...if they...wanted to...some of them...could be pros"

"tell me you're...joking captain"

"no joke" (deep breath) "now come on let's finish this game"

it ends with the high school losing but some people expected that, but for the point difference to only be one was unexpected

"good game Kerenai"

"you too, you know some of you have the potential to be pros"

"yeah but they don't want it"

"well it's their choice"

"indeed it is, say are you an EDC kid?"

(sighs) "knew my speed would bust me, yes I'm an EDC kid"

"why not use more of your skills then?"

"because otherwise I'd overpower people"

"I understand well you could also go pro with your skills"

"true but I was talked out of it last year and after some thought I realized I wanted a semi-normal high school experience first"

"then go for it Kerenai, and I hope to see your name amongst the pros in the coming years"

they shake hands

"count on it, after high school I'm going pro"

and so she shakes the hands of the rest of the team and that's when one college kid had an idea

"hey captain why don't we take these guys out for some ice cream?"

"good idea but I think everyone but Kerenai is going to have to ask their parents first"

and so those that needed to asked and since Ariel was going to be there they got permission

"okay guys I know a great parlor that we can go to, since there are so many of us who's..."

Ariel suddenly turns around with her gun drawn

"who goes there?"

suddenly a person comes out and Ariel actually holsters her gun

"geez John I could have shot you what are you doing sneaking around like that? And for that matter what are you doing here? I know I  _know_  you know the rules"

"sorry Ariel but you're the closes person and my phone's busted"

"something's happened hasn't it?"

"yes can I use your phone?"

"sure but make sure I somehow get it back"

and so she gives over her phone and then gets back to transportation arrangements

"hey Kerenai are you the only one with a license?"

"no but I  _am_  the only one who currently has a car"

"not my fault I haven't gotten the insurance money from my cousin's accident yet"

"yeah about that what does the official report say?"

"it was the woman's fault, she's on her sixth DUI" (Driving Under Influence) "charge and she's lucky it didn't turn into a vehicular manslaughter charge"

"cousin's out of a coma?"

"and paralyzed for life due to her body rejecting the chip"

"hey at least she's alive so how long until insurance money arrives?"

"true enough and at least another week, once that comes in I'll be able to buy another car"

"well then..." (tosses over her keys) "since I'm not sure the last time you practiced you're driving to the ice cream parlor"

"but you're the only one who knows the way to where we're going"

"not true it's that place we found after your birthday last summer"

"oh that place I still go there occasionally if I'm in the mood for ice cream"

"well then like I just said you're driving"

and so they get there order ice cream and just start talking (John also gave back the phone)


	22. Chapter 22

"so after next game is when you're going to try for the pro league Kerenai?"

"pretty much yeah but even if I don't go pro I still have my soccer camp"

"wait that's  _you're_  camp we were at this last spring?"

"yep and man did it take work for it to open fall of my sophomore year"

"we heard about the miracle camp, since it was a miracle it got built so fast without any issues"

"have to give the EDC credit for that one boys, they helped build the place making sure it was a 24 hour work sight"

"and you passed inspection first round too"

suddenly her cell phone rang so she answers

"hello?...say what?...when did it happen?...I understand...thanks for calling...are you  _sure_  that no one's hurt?...okay well I'll be on the next flight out...okay see you in a few hours then"

she hangs up and looks at everyone with a serious look on her fact

"sorry guys but we have to wrap this up quickly there's been a fire at my camp and I'm needed there"

"Kerenai we can drop you off at the airport since we actually need to get going to our next destination"

"works for me, Sean you can keep my car until I either come back or you get a new car"

"thanks I think the same arrangement as before will work except someone will have to trade with the captain. Mike is practice still on tomorrow?"

"yes it is"

"understood now then who's trading with the captain?"

while the rest of the team argues about who's trading with the captain Ariel and Mike go over to a corner to talk in low voices

"Mike did you know Sean can give out orders?"

"no this is the first time I'm seeing it too, and he's just a sophomore"

"yeah I'm a junior and you're a senior but I'm in charge because I showed the same skills he's showing now"

"think he'll replace you after next year?"

(sighs) "Mike I'm not going to be here next year once I finish spring semester I'm gone"

"say what?"

"remember how I met with the coach right after practice three days ago?"

"you mean the day we found out about this challenge? I do why?"

"well you see it's like this..."

_three days ago_

Ariel walks in to the coach's office and sees two other people one of whom she recognizes as a member of Freedom

"you wanted to see me coach?"

"yes Ariel sit down, this is Mr. Hank and this is Mr. Parker they've recently been to a game and have an offer for you"

Parker speaks up knowing what was to come

"my colleague and I have noticed your skill and are wondering if you'd be willing to join a special school that mainly focuses o soccer but be warned just because we've noticed you doesn't mean you'll automatically get accepted into the school"

Parker stops to let Ariel absorb the information she's been given so far and to see if she has questions

"let me guess there are tryouts to see if you qualify"

"yes and they're today in two hours but you only tryout once a year it's for the next school year"

"why so early in the school year?"

"because of how many applicants need to be screened around the country"

"oh so different regions are tested at different times so that you have time to test everyone"

"exactly"

the coach then speaks up

"Ariel another reason why I've mentioned this is because you're not happy here, you haven't been since the start of the school year"

"that's ridiculous coach of course I"m happy here"

"is that the truth are are you just saying that trying to convince both me and yourself"

Ariel stays quiet while the coach speaks up again

"Ariel you've mentioned before taking the GED and going pro, well this is an option that will take your training one step further before you try out for a professional league. I know you're only staying because you're the captain, because Mark asked you to take care of the team after him. What you don't know is that Mark and I knew about the school and fully expected you to be gone senior year"

"then why was I named captain?"

"so that you could gain command experience and find someone worthy of leading the team once you're gone"

then Hank speaks up

"look let's not pretend you haven't already decided to go to the tryouts you're eyes sparked with excitement the moment we mentioned the school, a spark we rarely see on the field except when you're feeling challenged or have the ball"

(sighs) "you win Mr. Hank, John you've got some explaining to do later mister, but for now I need to go home and change out of this practice uniform and into some tryout clothes"

she leaves and then five hours later she finds out she's made it into the school and also has John's story with him being involved in the school

_present_

"...and that's basically it"

"so Sean's your successor?"

"not quite sure yet, I"ll start testing him soon and if he passes next semester I'll train him like I was trained"

"ouch, harsh training but I guess it's also the best"

"exactly"

"hey I think they're finally ready to leave"

and they were too once in the van Ariel called the nearest airport to get the earliest flight possible

"...no tomorrow will  _not_  work because I'm needed there  _now_...because I only got the phone call ten minutes ago...no I do not carry anything illegal anything I have on me I have permits for...unless that's the next available flight that won't work...is that the closest you can get me?...okay I'll take it I have a license I can always rent a car...thanks oh and could you make sure the pilots and flight attendants now they'll have an extra pilot on board should there be an emergency?...thanks and the tickets under Kerenai, K,e,r,n,a,i I should be there within twenty minutes if traffic cooperates for once...okay and thanks again...you too goodbye"

she hangs up and is instantly bombarded by five people wanting to know the same thing

" _how_  can you be a pilot when you're deaf?"

"same way I sue the cell phone the special glasses which the FAA requires me to have at all times if I"m up in the air, it allows for conversation in real time which is a good thing in an emergency. Which fortunately I have yet to be a part of"

"so you just plug it in and it works?"

"exactly"

well finally she arrived at the airport and quickly passed through security to get on the plan. Four hours later she was on the ground headed to the camp, once there she was directed to the fire chief who shook hands and introduced himself

"chief first thing you should know is that you have to look straight at me whenever you have to talk to me because I'm deaf, second is a question do you know what caused the fire?"

"we suspect it's arson, there have been a lot of those lately in this area, the people at the camp have been taken to the nearest hotel so they're safe"

"that's good to hear I'll also be at the hotel so that I can answer any questions you might have for me"

"like the underground compound?"

(sighs) "yes questions like that but I'll answer tomorrow it's been a long day for me and I'm slightly jet lagged"

and so she checks into the hotel and the next day answers a few questions

"the underground compound is actually a base for an anti-terrorist group fighting a soccer based terrorist group, and no I'm not giving names for your own safety"

"what will you do with the property once the investigation is completed and you get the insurance money?"

"rebuild, I mad the camp so that players can improve their skills and I also would use it as a retreat as well"

"so it's a duel purpose place"

"exactly but it is primarily a camp"

and so over the next few days Ariel follows the investigation and was actually there when the teenagers are caught in the act by police and since she was there she was given the opportunity to confront the teens

"why did you guys do it?"

"we just wanted to have some fun, our parents are always working and never let us do stuff"

"did you ever think about the people you could potentially hurt with your acts of violence?"

"we didn't know the camp was occupied, we always go after abandoned buildings, that ways nobody but possibly us gets hurt"

(sighs) "I am going to press charges against you guys  _but_  I will petition the courts that in lieu of fines and possible time in a youth facility that you do community service helping rebuild the camp and also some family counseling. Your families  _need_  this to start working out what I'm starting to think are serious issues. I should warn you though that there are other people pressing charges so don't expect my petition to automatically work out, it all depends on the judge and who all are pressing charges and what extent they're pressing them"

and so she leaves the police station and heads straight to the courthouse to file her petition, finds out she was needed to hear the final outcome and possibly say her petition for the record, and then went home to catch up and wait to find out the court date

"hey guys how's it going?"

"great captain are you finished with the camp issue?"

"not quite I'm going to be needed in court to possibly state my petition for records and to hear the final sentencing"

"that's right you did mention arson over the phone"

"yes I did now then I want a quick update and then onto practice"

and so for the next two weeks Ariel starts to secretly test Sean and then the letter she was expecting arrived

" _dear Ariel Kerenai you are needed November 12th to hear the final sentencing of the teenage arsonists you are NOT needed to state your petition for the records ONLY to hear the sentencing_ "

the next day Ariel gives Sean a blatant test


	23. Chapter 23

"Sean next week you are to be in charge of practice Mike will be there to help if needed, don't worry I should be back in time for the game I just have some final business with the arson issue"

"understood captain, I'll do my best"

"I know you will"

and so Ariel leaves after school that day and while waiting for the day of sentencing she went up to her camp to help with the last of the cleanup so that rebuilding could immediately begin once she got the insurance money. Finally the 12th arrived and Ariel was in court to hear the sentence

"...I have heard many ask for the harshest punishment available for this crime be given to you so you have time to think about what you've done in the confines of a lonely prison cell, and yet the one person who lost the most property and equipment put in a petition that as I understand you know of. I am now going to quote her reasons for this petition 'I want these kids to learn from their mistake and what better way of learning that actions have consequences than by helping rebuild what they destroyed. They're just teenagers who need some direction in their lives, they also need a neutral ground to talk with their parents about how they feel about everything, things that they probably feel like the school counselors either can't understand or don't have the necessary resources to help them. This is why I am putting forth the petition of community service helping rebuild my camp and family counseling' that is what she wrote with her petition and after much deliberation I have made my decision. As I can not currently trust that they will be properly supervised in the home they will be staying at a youth house except for school hours for two weeks while the insurance money is coming in. Once the insurance money is in the teenagers  _will_  work at the camp as community service on the weekends excluding illness which is to be confirmed by a doctor or weather shutting down the work site. Counseling will also take place at the youth home where the teens will be staying until the courts are satisfied that there is adequate adult supervision. I should warn you though that the camp will have EDC officers as they helped build the place so I wouldn't try anything if I were you guys. Court dismissed"

and so with a bang of the gavel the case was closed and Ariel flew back and was indeed just back in time for the Friday night game

"so Mike how did it go?"

"except for some slight confusion on time management initially Sean did really well making the schedule, and even though you said you'd be back in time for the game he made a list of starting players in case your flight got delayed or something"

Ariel looks at the list and is sufficiently impressed

"I'm keeping it as is, this is a good list"

"same here he gave me the list for final approval and I totally agree with him on this"

"then make sure it gets to the coach I'll tell Sean he did good on the list. What I won't tell him is that he's passed two tests in one week

"wait two tests?"

"yeah if he did good with simply managing practice I was going to test his observation skills next and ask him to make a starting line up, instead I'll have to test his leadership game after this one"

"and that's because next week is next to last game for the season"

"exactly, oh and before you ask about court I'm telling everyone before the game"

and so that night everyone was relieved to see Ariel

"okay before I state the starting members I'm sure you want to know the results of court well they're serving community service rebuilding my cap and are also getting family counseling all while staying at a youth home"

"who's idea was that?"

"except for the youth home bit I actually petitioned the courts for that punishment now here's the starting line up"

and so finally the game starts, twelve minutes in a sub was needed

"Mike you're up" (thinks) " _is this a hidden Scretents team or are they just that rough?_ "

two minutes later she got her answer from their opponents coach

"come on guys if you can't win then the Scretents will gain a foothold and you  _know_  we can't allow that, plus since we're new this season we have to prove we have what it takes to be a soccer team"

(mental gasp) " _of course how could I forget the only high school Freedom team, scouted by Fairborne herself but it looks like they haven't fully read through the safe team list yet, though I will be the first to admit it's a long list they should have also received a call letting them know my team is not part of Scretents_ " (thinks for a minute and then mentally groans) " _except for the fact that all Freedom teams are currently solo until the base is fully operational...maybe I should have worded my message better_ "

finally it was half time and Ariel decided she was playing in the second half

"Sean you need a break even with Mike on the field you're pushing yourself beyond your limits. If this keeps up your body will cave under pressure and you could potentially injure yourself"

*guys I want most of you on defense Mike and I will handle scoring*

and so that's what they do and once their opponents heard Ariel's name they knew they were up against a normal team, but they still played a little rough adapting and trying to develop their own play style. Finally the game ended and the two captains could talk

"sorry about the first half boss"

(shakes her head) "my fault for not being more specific in my messages, though I have to wonder are you guys still developing your play style after a whole season?"

"sadly yes we just can't seem to gt a balance yet"

"I understand might I suggest playing official matches like you do at practice? I think you've already proven yourselves to be a worthy soccer team"

"right when will Freedom be a united force again?"

"rebuilding doesn't happen for another two weeks I'm afraid, that's when the insurance money comes in"

"yeah about that, just how did you insure a secret underground base in the fist place?"

"that's my secret so yeah you're not finding out any time soon"

once that was done and they were home Ariel went to a private cemetery for the first time since finding out about the Autobots "deaths" nearly three years earlier


	24. Chapter 24

"hey guys sorry I haven't visited since finding out about your deaths almost three years ago now but I've been busy. So the teams' done really well under my short leadership and soon they'll have a new captain because I'm going to a special school my senior year. I've also been fighting a terrorist organization called the Scretents since I found out about them, don't worry I'm not doing this alone. I've formed an anti-terrorist group called Freedom to combat the threat of the Scretents, they also take care of any other organization trying to take over the world using soccer. Well I have to get going in I want to be rested up for the game celebration tomorrow like always"

and so she goes home and meditates for three hours trying to break the Quintessonian seal and failing yet again

(sighs) "I wonder if I'll ever break the seal and use my powers again, well maybe the EDC has finally succeeded in finding a way to break the seal, I'll check tomorrow after the celebration I guess"

and so they celebrate their most recent win and the fact that Sean was a decent planner. Afterword Ariel went to the EDC and found out they  _still_  didn't know how to even partially break the seal, but that's also when she found out a new way to control her powers had been developed while she was gone

"why didn't you do the procedure once I got home?"

"simple we didn't have all the necessary materials until you were abducted and your powers sealed by the Quintessons"

"I understand well might as well get in some training while i"m here if anyone comes looking for me you know where I'll be"

and so Ariel does some combat training and then goes home for the rest of the weekend. Monday after school Ariel received a pleasant surprise, the insurance money arrived a week early which meant the rebuilding could start immediately thus she made a few phone calls

"Fairborne I want the Freedom base rebuilt within a week...the insurance money came in early...that's what I was planning on doing...okay bye" (dials another number) "hey the insurance money came in early bur you won't start until next week because that's how long it will take for the supplies to get in...thanks I was actually wondering how I could do that...no this time you don't have to do frenzy building and Fairborne already knows that...will do bye"

and so she orders the needed supplies and handles school and practice for the next week only having to leave during school hours for a doctors appointment and blood drawing that needed to be done immediately, finally Friday arrived and that's when Ariel sprung her surprise

"Sean you've been showing leadership skills lately so I've named you captain for this game"

she hands over the captain's mark to a surprised Sean who then starts giving out his orders what no one knew was that they were up against a Scretents team, at half time Sean made a critical decision that would determine the rest of the game

"Ariel you're replacing me on the field, I want you to go all out on that field. I feel that's the only way we're going to be able to score points"

"understood captain"

and so Ariel went all out and they actually managed to win the game but it was an extremely close call

"good game Ariel, thanks for understanding why I wanted you to go all out on the field today even though you don't normally like to"

"no problem captain just glad I managed to score enough points that we won"

"captain now that we're back at school you're the captain again"

"okay well as usual no practice again until Monday, and the usual rules apply if for some reason I'm not at practice Mike's in charge until I get back"

and so the weekend passed and on Monday Ariel wasn't there with good reason

_the previous evening in her neighborhood_

"stupid kid that's the fifth time he's passed this street now"

"okay that's it I'm getting involved"

"but Kerenai..."

"captain you've go the crowed under control at the moment this chase on the other hand isn't"

(sighs) "you win just make sure..."

"that I use the glasses? I already know captain"

and so she joins the chase taking the lead when suddenly the kid hit her twice and managed to roll the car with the second hit. Once she got her bearings and her glasses she sent out an important call over the radio

"all ground units back off I repeat  _all ground units_  back off, he just wrecked me so until he's forced to stop air units have to take over please acknowledge"

"what's your condition Kerenai?"

"not sure once I'm out of the wreck I'm staying still so as to prevent further injury to myself if any"

"copy that ambulance en route to your location"

"send fire as well the car's starting to smoke"

she just barely manages to get to a safe location before her car went up in flames. At the hospital doctors had to do minor repairs on her chip that allowed her to walk so they decided to keep her for the day just to make sure everything was fine and there was no sings of rejection. The next day Ariel was back at school and got the needed information from Mike

"you know between the two of us you picked well in decided Sean as your successor"

"oh?"

"yeah I was running late myself yesterday and when I arrived to morning practice he already had the team running the warm up laps before stretching, and after we hear you were in the hospital he kept his cool and quickly got the team organized again"

"well that's good to hear, well let's get the team ready for the final game of the season"

"you're on captain but don't forget I have tests I need to take after school so I won't be here this afternoon"

"I remember don't worry about practice I can handle it"

and so the week passed by fairly quickly and soon it was time for the final game of the season

"good luck by the way we're waiting to hear that the camp has been rebuilt"

"same to you and depending on the weather it won't be finished until late spring early summer"

"got it e-mail when it's completed?"

"exactly"

"fine I call heads"

"okay then I have tails"

Ariel won the coin toss so her team kicked off and it was an interesting game neither side was willing to back off leading to intense fights for the ball and even then it was a fight to get to the goal and score, by half time both teams were exhausted and needed all subs out. During break

*guys change of plans subs you're going into secondary positions everyone else but the goalie are also to go into secondary positions except for me, I'm going goalie so John give me the uniform you're on bench*

*but captain...*

*no buts don't think I haven't noticed you starting to favor your injured right hand*

the coach speaks up

"Ariel have you even practiced being the goalie?"

"yep plenty of times with the EDC"

"okay then I accept your decision" (under her breath) "this should be an interesting second half"

and indeed it was an interesting second half because  _no one_  expected Ariel to be the goal keeper and for everyone else to change positions as well. In the end Ariel's team won because of the position changes

"well Kerenai you won fair and square, changing positions was a smart tactic for you because we only planned for your regular positions"

"well it was a calculated risk on my part that just happened to work"

"so what's next for the team?"

"winter break and then spring tryouts"

"final decision?"

"no choice some of these guys are basketball or swimmers and while I don't have winter sports I'll also be busy this winter"

"rebuilding your camp?"

"among other things yes"

and so winter came and Ariel was busy, not only did she keep tabs on the camp and did some work during holiday vacation but she also re-qualified as an FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) sniper and hostage negotiator, which would come into play a lot sooner than expected. And for the new semester Ariel did her usual warning for the teachers

"and so as you can see if not for the weather...can I help you officer?"

Ariel turned and once the officer knew she was looking at him he explained why he was there

"Kerenai you're needed at the airport school already knows"

once outside the room she asks a valid question

"what gear do I need?"

"both if you can't negotiate you have to snipe them"

"understood give me five to get my gear and myself ready"

five minutes later Ariel was at the car in her sniper gear and special glasses on she explained at the officers look

"easier this way trust me"

ten minutes later Ariel was at the airport


	25. Chapter 25

"what's the current situation guys?"

"they hijacked the plane at take off the problem is they only speak French so I can't ask if they speak English"

"and I come in how?"

"this is Jean he'll be the translator on both sides he's a member of the French Embassy"

"how did you get here so quickly?"

"I was actually in the terminal headed back to France when this happened"

"okay oh and just so the FBI knows no matter what you hear until I go sniper I"m in charge and would someone inform the EDC I'll need new glasses after this?"

"already done Kerenai"

and so Ariel connects to the cockpit

"this is Ariel Kerenai with the FBI hostage negotiations team can I get you guys anything?"

they wait a minute while translations happen

"they said they want water and to be called Phillip"

"tell him I need something in return and ask if he can speak English that ways we don't have any possible misunderstandings"

a minute later they get a reply

"he says he'll release the injured and that he does not speak English"

(sighs) "this is gong to be a long day. OK tell Phillip that we're going to do what's called mutual exchange that means the injured get released at the same time as they receive the water"

and so after three hours of negotiations it finally ends in a peaceful surrender of the terrorists. After that things remained calm and soon enough it was time for spring season of soccer to start

"okay guys always look at me when you're talking to me or I won't talk back I can't because I'm deaf. Second of all just because you're skilled doesn't mean you're automatically on the team"

and so most of the week passes without incident but on the final day of tryouts Ariel landed in the hospital. Seven hour later

"captain are you alright?"

(sighs) "I'm fine team, I have a question for those who have been on the team as long as I have. Do you guys remember when I got shot?"

"yeah it's how we found out a lot about you that we normally wouldn't have learned"

"turns out the poison isn't finished with me, I now have epinephrine or insulin to those who need it and will for the rest of my life. I can still play soccer professionally I just need the shot on me at all times"

"how will it work?"

"it's essentially an immediate antidote"

"association know about this?"

"yes and I'm under the same restrictions as those needing injections"

"will you be back on Monday captain"

"should be Sean doctors said that if they like what they see I should be out by tomorrow afternoon"

"have they worked out a way for you to get refills?"

"yes but I have to go to a hospital in country if I need refills"

and so the weekend passed and Monday came with the team completed

"okay guys I have two things we need to address first of all is that we have a scrimmage against our sister school this Friday second of all what happened last week could happen again so don't panic if I start coughing up blood, I'll have the antidote on me and its' fast acting"

after practice Mike confronted her about Sean

"now's not the time, I want the team to start bonding before I put that stress on him"

"so Friday?"

"at the earliest"

and so the week passed and by Friday Ariel felt the team was ready for new leadership

"Sean front and center"

"yes captain?"

all Ariel does is take off the captain's mark and give it to Sean with a simple phrase

"you're captain now"

and so Sean proves he's a good leader though at first he wanted to look to Ariel for guidance and how to punish them

"I can't do anything you're captain now Sean"

"okay anyone who disobeys my orders has to run 10 laps each practice for every order disobeyed"

"that's not fair captain"

"fifteen laps"

"but..."

"want to make it 20?"

(sighs dejectedly) "no sir"

"than stop arguing and do as you're told"

after that Sean had no problems regarding his authority over the team. Three weeks later Ariel received yet another phone call in regards to the camp

"hello? Kerenai speaking...when was this discovered?...I see is it something I need to be there for?...OK I'll let the coach know...okay bye"

she hangs up and goes straight to Sean

"captain I need to leave for a bit"

"what's wrong Ariel?"

"apparently there's a water reservoir on my camp property that I never knew about, but it supplies water to the nearby city so..."

"you have some legal issues you need to work out, OK leave granted just remember to e-mail the principal to let him know"

"will do inform the coach once she's back?"

"no problem now get out of here and take care of your camp"

and so Ariel leaves and heads to the camp grounds

"so what's this about a reservoir we never knew about before?"

"this way Kerenai"

an so she's led to the reservoir which was indeed on her property

"why wasn't it discovered before I bought the property?"

"no one knows but the city suspects someone gave the people bad maps and took other measures to keep it hidden"

"how was it discovered?"

"area's in a semi-drought stage, forest fire sprung up water was needed and lo and behold the resrvoir was found"

(sighs) "OK I'm going into town to sort out this legal mess while that happens everyone's on break building will start back up once I have everything sorted out"

"what about those from out of town or worse, out of state?"

"see if people can put them up for now and I also want checks on their hotel rentals to see how much they currently owe"

"why didn't yo bring in temporary living quarters anyways?"

"I tried to just ask any EDC officer but since I couldn't pay asking prices in advance because of how long I estimated I needed them I was turned down"

an EDC officer was there and spoke up

"it's true you should have  _heard_  some of the shouting matches she had, anyhow Kerenai Fairborne said they'd like to try something at the nearest base in regards to your issue once you have some time"

"understood now if you'll excuse me I have some legal wrangling to do about this reservoir"

turned out it would take until the next Friday afternoon and during the weekend the EDC seal solution fell through but at least they got closer than last time to undoing it

"okay so we're all agreed about the reservoir?"

"looks like it, though I still think you got the short end of the stick overall Kerenai after all it is  _your_  property it's on"

"I'm perfectly fine with having no legal rights to that water, the city needs it most in my mind"

"but..."

"if I ever need water from the reservoir we'll deal with the issue should it come up. I doubt it will be necessary though considering I have use of an underground spring also on my property"

and so Ariel tells the crew that Monday morning the build was back on and then went home and straight to the soccer game

"Kerenai thank goodness you're here they need your leadership skills on the field"

"what happened captain?"

"I think I sprained my ankle on a tackle"

"okay I'm ready when you are then"

and so once Ariel was on the field the team improved. Over the season the team adjusted to Sean's style of leadership and right before the final game everyone but Mike found out why Sean had taken over as captain that season

"Kerenai I've been wondering why did you name me captain at the start of the season?"

"two reasons Sean for one you showed you had leadership skills near the end of last season, second of all I won't be here next year"

"say what now?"

"you heard correctly I'm going to a special school my senior year before I tryout for pros"

"Mike and the coach don't seem too surprised about this"

"the coach told me about the school and I told Mike the day we played those college kids"

"the same day I showed the leadership skills I had gained from helping raise two younger siblings"

"exactly captain now come on we have a game to win"

and win they did once school ended everyone relaxed and wished Ariel luck. She drove to her new school a week before it started so that she could check on her camp and see how much rebuilding was left after an arson attack last fall/early winter


	26. Chapter 26

"well looks like you almost have the camp completely rebuilt"

"yeah we estimate about another week and we'll be ready for final inspection to re-certify the camp"

"great news" (lowers her voice) "and access to Freedom HQ?"

"we're good on that aspect did you get your monthly update yet?"

"just yesterday actually why?"

"new Scretents activity just this morning"

"someone checking it out?"

"yes no reports back just yet though"

"understood keep me posted"

"will do boss, now go get to your new school"

and so she gets to school and quickly sets into routine, she was quickly voted by the rest of the seniors to be captain. Most games were against other high schools but halfway through the season the team got a huge surprise in their opponents

"okay guys listen up, you're not going up against a high school today these opponents are much tougher"

"by how much coach?"

the coach shocked them by using sign language which only Ariel and the coach knew by the team's choice

*pros Kerenai you're going up against a professional team*

Ariel hissed at that realizing just how much harder the game would be

"all right change of plans John you're on the bench while I'm playing unless I get injured during the game"

and soon the game starts and it was rough. For every one point Ariel scored their opponents scored two Ariel could tell they were holding back, but then the pros could tell Ariel wasn't going all out either. Finally it was half time and Ariel had a major request for the coach

*request permission to go all out*

*no*

*but coach...*

*no Kerenai and that's final it's too risky*

"I've done it before against college kids*

*was your shoulder acting like a barometer and your ankle healing form strain last time?*

Ariel winces from something the team doesn't understand

*you noticed that?*

*you bet I did*

*fine you win but tell the refs that we have 10 minutes  _tops_  before the storm roles in*

*shoulder getting worse?*

Ariel simply groans and grabs her shoulder in answer

"I'll take that as a yes how bad is it?"

"can't move it bad" (sighs) "I'm on the bench now and move up the time line to five minutes"

"um guys it's drizzling"

"oh that's  _nothing_  compared to what's coming"

"she isn't kidding team due to circumstances that I don't really know of Ariel has a permanent barometer in her shoulder. The worse the pain in the shoulder the more severe the storm is"

"the game may be postponed until a later date we may finish it now, or the game is canceled all depends on the officials really"

turned out they would finish the game and the pros won but only because of their skills and experience

"you guys did good but once the rain came..."

"yeah I know out of all the team I'm the most used to doing things in the rain but..."

"you benched yourself once the rain came"

"no choice permanent barometer here" (grabs her shoulder) "becomes useless in severe storms the only reason I'm not in pure agony right now is because of pain killers strong ones that that"

"when did your shoulder start hurting?"

"as soon as I woke up took painkillers once the shoulder became useless"

"you must have a very high pain threshold"

"EDC kid there's actually more to my sorry but that's all you're allowed to know about me"

(whistles) "dang I've known a few EDC kids over the years one of them broke an arm in phys ed  _felt_ the bone break and didn't mention anything until we were back inside the school"

"yeah that's actually fairly normal, but only if the class is almost finished anyways, we know better than to delay treatment longer than necessary as that lowers the risk of complications"

"speaking from personal experience?"

"yeah it's how I got a permanent barometer though really I had no other choice"

"well we're off to our next game...boss"

(gasps) "you're part of..."

"Just got recruited last game EDC should have sent a video by now"

"probably did but I've been busy"

"true enough well see ya"

and with that the team left and once back inside her room she found the tape she needed to see

"wow they're good no wonder they were asked to join I haven't seen this since the last pro team we asked to join us"  
for the rest of the season they actually had fairly normal games all things considered and in the final game Ariel twisted her ankle, thus needing the winter to heal. During winter break Ariel did another check on the camp just as final inspections were happening (weather and inspector schedules had delayed them until then) and Ariel was glade she was there

"well Kerenai once again you've surpassed our expectations in regards to this camp you may reopen at your word"

"thanks inspectors I won't let you down"

she decides to reopen at the start of the new year, once the new year's weekend passed. Finally it was time for school to start up again

"I see you're off your crutches captain"

"yeah the doctor confirmed I'd healed enough just yesterday"

"when do we start playing again?"

"March is the official start of the season"

"that's good to hear"

a month later though the school would almost be shut down due to a random drug inspection by the police. At the police station

"so I have a question Kerenai why you?"

"one would think it pretty obvious captain"

"actually Kerenai it's not you're the only one who's taken responsibility for the whole thing so I ask again why you?"

"you want to know why? I'm the captain that makes me responsible for my team's actions if that mean I lose my chance at prose than so be it this ways the team doesn't suffer for something I should have noticed in the first place"

what Ariel didn't know  _couldn't_  know was that the whole drugs being found was a test set up by the school and a professional team that wanted her once school was out. The professional team had realized early on that they couldn't test Ariel in the conventional way they had watched her training regiment and her games. Due to those observations they realized that Kerenai needed a unique test to see if she was worthy of becoming a pro

"she passed the test guys guess she's joining the team come summer"

"sure looks like it alright"

"so coming to the first match of the season?"

"you know it Mike so when will you tell her it was a test?"

"back on campus in my office"

"scared of what she'd do otherwise"

"nope scared of her team they are fiercely protective of their captain"

"yeah about the school anyways what's with an all one grade team in the first place?"

"simply the way the owner decided to run it"

and so once at school she was told about the drugs being a test of her character

"so the charges were fake?"

"yes they were but you couldn't find out until now due to the test being a moot point otherwise"

"I understand so what happens now?"

"we start getting ready for the spring season of soccer"

"okay just so you know some of the team are considering leaving school and joining the military. I've told them to talk to a counselor before doing so"

"why are you telling me this?"

"in case you have to withdraw the senior team from the playing season"

"well hopefully that won't happen"

and so the team starts preparing for the new season when they got curious enough about why the captain always seemed to be ready before them. Once day they woke up an hour before normal and saw the captain leave the dorm so they followed her and observed her training regime which was  _intense_  more intense than their daily training plus some of it involved hand to hand combat skills (they didn't know about her sealed powers) and through observation they learned she was  _fast_  faster than she had shown them. They left five minutes before the hour was up so as to avoid detection. Finally it was time for practice


	27. Chapter 27

"okay guys we only have a month to get ready for the season so I want you on your game and ready for new formations I though of back during Christmas break"

"when did you find time during Christmas break visiting your family like we did captain?"

the coach notices Ariel going stiff while talking to another coach and asks a question without thinking

"please don't tell me they asked about Ariel's family? I thought they knew better"

the coach heads over and touches Ariel's shoulder bringing her back into the present

"never ask about my family again and I guess you could say they understood my passion for soccer"

the coach managed to hear how unsteady Ariel's voice was so he took ever for her

"okay guys get to work I need to borrow your captain for a minute"

they go to a private area for that minute and use sing language as another means to ground Ariel to reality

*are you going to be OK practicing today?*

*yeah just give me a minute to recover from the sudden question*

*I thought they were told questions about your family were strictly off limits*

*they were but they might have forgotten*

*then I'll give them a reminder*

*works for me*

*just so you know I'll be watching you extra carefully today*

*I understand coach I understand*

and so the team gets a reminder about not mentioning Ariel's family. Once the month passed and the season started Ariel received a nice surprise

" _Sean_? What are you doing here?"

"we're you're opponents Kerenai they asked and we accepted"

"what about your own season?"

*officially stars next week*

*I see you've kept up your sing language*

*next door neighbors have a deaf child birth defect apparently helps keep me in practice*

and so the game stars and Ariel learned the whole team knew sign language

"okay new plan coach I want in and not as a defender or goalie"

"but Kerenai..."

"coach our opponents know sign language I'm needed on that field"

(sighs) "fine you win"

once Ariel was on the field things changed and Ariel managed to allow her team to win

"well it was nice seeing you again Sean keep up the good work"

"no problem captain no problem"

well the next week they had a break because their opponents bus broke down. The week after that they actually faced the team that wanted Kerenai

"so more pros"

"yes they want to see the high school level as they've already seen the college level"

"okay well team you know what to do"

and so they go up against the team and they lose...badly the coach yet again held Kerenai back

"that was a good game"

"thanks though I'm annoyed I wasn't allowed to go all out"

(acting surprised) "you were being held back?"

"yes I was"

"hope to go up against you at full strength sometime then"

and so they part ways and Ariel focuses on her studies and her playing, while occasionally dealing with camp or Freedom issues that popped up. Finally it was the last game of the season and Ariel knew there was Scretents involvement. The game itself was brutal unfortunately Ariel would receive no reprieve that day in regards to fighting

"for the glory of Scretents"

Ariel charges in and goes hand to hand that's when she receives a nice surprise and reprieve all at once. The pros they had played with earlier that season

"you okay Kerenai?"

"now that you've joined in"

fifteen minutes later everything had settled down and the principal went over to her

"Kerenai I've been wondering you've been ready to take the GED for almost two years now yet you've never taken it why?"

"at first it was because I was talked out of it, but later it was because I enjoyed being a kid if only for a short time"

"well we tricked you this time Kerenai, you remember those tests you took last week?"

(sighs) "don't tell me it was the GED test over a period of days"

"actually they were your finals you passed Kerenai you've graduated high school"

he gives her a diploma and then leaves the pros with her to do some talking

"Kerenai do you remember that drug thing at the start of the school year?"

"yes I do why?"

"that was our way of testing you we've actually been watching you since last fall and the drug thing was the final test which you passed would you like to join us?"

"yes and now  _I_ have a confession to make I've been having you guys watched and I have an offer of my own would you like to join Freedom? I made it to fight groups like the Scretents"

they all look at each other for a minute than nod in agreement

"okay we'll join"

"than let's have me sing the contract and then I have some explaining to do"

once the contract is singed and they're in a private area Ariel reveals all about herself

"and finally I would normally use powers I was born with against the Scretents but the Quintessons sealed them away a few years ago"

"man that's harsh and you have yet to break the seal?"

"yeah and the EDC and I have tried  _everything_  we could think of"

"now that we know we'll help too but first we're visiting your family's grave"

and so that's what they do not knowing they were being watched by Cybertronians after a few years. Minutes earlier

*wow so she's finally a pro*

*go Kerenai*

and so they continue watching and find out about the seal

*just wait until I get my hands on them*

everyone was in agreement, they then turn off the monitor for safety reasons and get back to work. On earth Fairborne was at the school waiting for her

"Fairborne what are you doing here?"

"to say congratulations on both graduation and becoming a pro, I also brought this"

she takes out a jewelry box and Ariel opens it up to see a bracelet

"your family bough it years ago for your sixteenth birthday but I decided to make it a graduation present"

"thanks Fairborne just so you know the team is part of Freedom and knows everything about me"

"understood and I was wondering how would you like a tattoo of the Autobot symbol as a way of honoring them"

"actually Fairborne I recently discovered that the Decepticons fought along side the Autobots so I wish to honor both of them with the old Cybertronian symbols of peace and unification"

"your choice their locations?"

"the unification symbol will be on my left forearm and the symbol for peace will be oh my right forearm"

her new captain joins the conversation

"you know you could use them as a means to identify her if it becomes necessary"

"excellent idea captain"

and so that's exactly what they do and to hide the tattoos they use a special tape that blended with he skin. A month later Ariel was in her first professional game

"you nervous Ariel?"

"just a little captain after all this is my first professional game and it's in a foreign country"

"be glad it's in an English speaking country or you'd be worse off"

"not necessarily captain but for now let's get playing"

the game was much more intense than Ariel had ever played and it showed, but Ariel also showed her determination to play professionally and though the team lost everyone was impressed with Ariel's playing

"for your fist game you did good"

"thanks for a while there I actually wasn't sure how I was going to do on the field"

"to be honest I don't think anyone is"

well the team was now staying as tourists and things were going great when Ariel had to assist Scotland Yard and she chased a criminal all the way to the Thames when he jumped in forcing both Ariel and the officer to stop when suddenly Ariel stripped down to special under armor specifically designed for her and jumped in after the criminal while the officer called on water patrol. Several minutes later Ariel swam to an embankment having to admit defeat to the criminal


	28. Chapter 28

"are you alright miss?"

"yeah I'm fine though I think I drank some of the river"

"looks like you'll either need antibiotics or specially treated water"

"I'll take the water if you have any did your guys on the river get the guy?"

"no and I'm going to have to ask for your name please"

"it's Kerenai Ariel Kerenai"

"well looks like I won't have to charge you looks I thought but I still need you to come to the station to write up a report"

Ariel nods her understanding just as her team shows up with her discarded clothes and an officer holding a water bottle with red stuff in it

"here are your clothes Ariel and this officer says you have to drink that water which he added something to it"

"good now hopefully I won't get sick from the swim"

that confused the team but not the officer who made sure Ariel drank the whole bottle

"man that tastes nasty but it's better than getting sick"

Ariel then puts on the clothes she discarded just as a boat showed up with a suspect for visual confirmation

"looks like you got him"

"he had several bags of drugs on him too"

"good catch then"

"indeed it was you alright miss?"

"she's fine and yes she drank the wretched stuff the boys came up with"

"not my fault I'm allergic to several types of antibiotics" (under her breath) "stupid overdose"

"then how do you know you didn't just make yourself worse?"

"simple I designed the powder you guys use and there are no antibiotics in it the reaction is all chemical"

well two days later there was a Quintesson attack just as the team was preparing to go home and suddenly the captain was picked up then dropped from a significant height

"captain no!"

Ariel holds out her right hand and suddenly the captain's rate of decent slows down. At the same time Ariel could  _feel_ her powers return and she looks at her hands then closes them into a fist and turns to face her enemies

"you guys are going to regret hearing the name Ariel Kerenai, arranyan air ball!"

suddenly the Quintessons are pushed back by an invisible force while everyone else was seeing swords in Ariel's hands

"arranyan swords"

about ten minutes later the Quintessons were gone and everyone in the know was looking at Ariel for answers

"guys don't even ask how this is possible because I don't know myself though I think it involves my emotions"

suddenly Ariel is handed a message and she goes into serious mode

"please tell me this is a bad joke"

"sorry but all silos were triple checked this is for real"

(sighs) "does America know this?"

"only those that need to at the moment"

"right let's hope it stays that way for a few more hours"

she turns to face her team

"guys I need to stay in Britain for a bit, if possible get to an American territory just in case of worse trouble than now"

"is this related to what you told us when you joined the team?"

"I honestly don't know captain bug better to play it safe"

and the team leaves she turns her attention back to the British soldier

"I need to go the EDC first to get a procedure done but once I'm released I'm all yours per my orders"

"right see you in a few days then"

and so Ariel goes to the EDC to tell them she needs the chip that controlled her powers without the locket and after the procedure was finished and some tests performed Ariel was under the command of Great Britain

"I'm all yours guys"

for the next two years Ariel fought in the middle est because the Quintessons had taken over the region and stolen those weapons. The British soldiers identified Ariel easily as she was the only one who never took of her locket or bracelet only the high commanders knew to also look for tattoos if they needed to and one day they would need to. At base camp early morning

"sir unit Delta hasn't reported in yet, in fact according to our records they haven't sent in a report since 2 this morning"

"isn't that Kerenai's unit?"

"yes sir it is and we all know how she is with reporting"

"yes we do every hour on the hour unless something happens I want today's patrols to keep an eye out for them hopefully it's nothing more than busted radios however..."

"I understand sir"

and so a unit on patrol actually found Delta units destroyed convoy so they did searches and found grim discoveries, everyone's dog tags and for Ariel two extra things

"Sergeant these are the Lieutenants tags locket and bracelet, she'd  _never_  leave these behind if she could help ti"

"you're right OK men let's get these items back to base so they can be declared MIA" (Missing in Action) "seeing as how we can't currently find any bodies" (thinks) " _please be_ _safe my brothers and sister in arms_ "

meanwhile Delta unit had been captured and they were  _not_  happy especially Ariel who feared fake bodies would replace them and have them declared dead

"so Kerenai any ideas for escape?"

"possibly but we're too heavily guarded for it to work so we can forget about escaping for now"

"anyone else have any ideas?"

no one did but a few days later they would take advantage of actually an American bombing raid to escape. Once out after a few miles of walking they would run into American forces to be more specific a Marine unit

"boy am I glad to see that uniform"

"not as glad as we are to see yours Britain told us of their missing unit with one Ariel Kerenai an American citizen on loan to Britain, unfortunately we need to restrain you until we get back to base for identification"

everyone nods their consent understanding why it was needed. Once back at base Ariel actually showed her tattoos once she as printed and soon a British tank was picking them up complete with their tags and Ariel's locket and bracelet

"by the way Kerenai your team is fine and hopefully you'll be able to come home soon"

"what is America planning?"

"sorry but you'll actually ave to ask your commanding officer it's his plan America's just backing him up on it"

once back at base she didn't need to ask because her commanding officer brought her entire unit into the planning

"sorry I didn't tell you sooner but I was unsure about spies until recently"

"understood captain"

and so they finalized the plans only stopping to eat and make sure Ariel was OK after a poison episode

"now are you guys certain this will work?"

"yes captain we're sure"

"okay than we execute this plan in two days"

two days later they won middle east's freedom and Ariel was allowed to go home with the American forces. A month later thy got invited to Japan to play soccer, Ariel had fond out through a separate message that due to events in the middle east if necessary Japan would revert to the Sengoku period provinces and she would live in Oshu, they would also defer to clan names in that case. Many hours later

"wow so this is Japan"

"indeed it is how long is our stay anyways?"

"two weeks the first week consists of playing soccer while our second week consists of being tourists"

"hey Ariel are you  _sure_  Freedom can function without you for so long?"

"yes captain I'm sure"

as it turned out they would never get to play. On the way to the game the Scretents attacked the bus and separated the team. After a period of swimming Ariel made it to dry land and came upon a fisherman who said something she didn't understand fortunately there was a stick nearby that she could use


	29. Chapter 29

***whatever you just said I couldn't hear because I'm deaf I do know Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, and Romaji but that's the only way you can communicate with me***

***I asked if you were OK?*  
**

***I'll be fine but I was wondering if I could use your house to watch the news with someone translating for me*  
**

***what for?*  
**

***I have a bad feeling I need to quell and the only way to do that is by watching the news***

and so they go to the fisherman's home and find out Japan, America, Great Britain and Canada had all been either partially or completely taken over by the Quintesson backed Scretents

***how far is the Oshu province from here?*  
**

***at least a three day ride and that's if you push*  
**

***I know this is much to ask but can I borrow your horse?*  
**

***sorry but I can't allow you to borrow my horse*  
**

***I understand then I take my leave stay safe***

he quickly gave her the wait signal

***the reason I can't allow you to borrow my horse is because I'm giving you the one that rightfully belongs to you Kerenai along with your very own Katana forged by my brother*  
**

***how do you know who I am?*  
**

***retired Japanese General of the self defense force once you were found to be alive the EDC asked my family to train your horse and forge your Katana should you ever come to Japan***

***I thank you then don't worry about provisions I know how to live off the land*  
**

***sorry but you're talking to a grandparent I'm giving you supplies and that's final***

soon after Ariel was on her way with a message for the Date leader on one scroll and a pass on another. Three days later she was  _finally_  in Oshu but she was still worried due to her missing possibly dead team

(thinking) * _I hope the rest of the team is alive and together but for now I have to worry about being welcomed into the Date clan with few problems_ * (sees the gate) * _well here goes nothing_ *

and so she gives the first scroll to the guard who nods at her to dismount and follow. Two minutes later she gave the second scroll to the Date leader who then shocked her by speaking English

"I understand the situation Kerenai and before you ask how I know English I originally came here from America due to a job transfer and loved the country so much I decided to move here permanently and become a Japanese citizen"

"well I have an idea if you're willing to listen"

"so soon?"

I've actually thought of this on my ride up here, have you ever watched the anime Sengoku Basara?"

"I think I know where you're going Echigo and Kai the three of us forming an alliance"

"precisely but I fear the battle will be long even then"

(sighs) "do you know something I don't?"

"yes but I can't really tell you due to classification levels"

"except as a fellow EDC kid you know those rules have officially gone out the window"

(sighs) "you've got me there"

and so for the next two hours Ariel explains everything she could about the situation they were currently in

"well looks like my all out tactics just won't cut it, for now I'll send messages to Kai and Echigo requesting an audience to discuss something important, after that it's extra training for everyone including me in both our swordsmanship and the use of guns"

"sir about my powers..."

"seal them if the enemy believes yo dead those powers would be a dead giveaway. Once the situation becomes bad enough you can have a private training area so no one accidentally gets hurt"

"understood Lord Date"

and so a few hours alter everyone was practicing their swordsmanship and everyone but the EDC kid was surprised Ariel was doing so good considering she was a foreigner

*okay time for sparring Kerenai Takagi you're up Takagi insults won't work with her so don't even try it*

most of the group was confused about the hand movement but didn't say anything and the spar started and it was intense. Everyone noticed that Takagi's words had no affect on her even if it was a compliment. After the battle the foreigner and the leader exchanged words and the foreigner looks genuinely surprised and said something back

*Takagi she also says you're good now this is for everyone Kerenai is deaf so you can only communicate through writing or American Sign Language if you know it*

well they stared to develop a routine and also started to get to know each other when Takeda and Uesugi arrived for the meeting right in the middle of them practicing their marksmanship, well everyone but Kerenai Kerenai was practicing archery just in case she couldn't use her guns and they were too far for her Katana Ariel noticed them first as she was getting more arrows and got the attention of the closest person who just happened to know ASL due to a friend

*yes Kerenai?*

*Takeda and Uesugi are here*

*then the two of us have a job to do*

soon the meeting got underway and things were a little tense considering the talks happening when Ariel received a nice surprise

*Kerenai according to Uesugi they have someone wearing the same uniform you are in a hospital in their province but they can't ID him he's hoping you could as their guest is currently in a coma*

she looks to Date for permission which he gives

*okay but you need to come to play translator for me*

*already have permission as the only other person who knows ASL where you go I go unless wounded*

*should that happen we go back to writing*

*true enough*

soon the two went to Echigo and saw her captain

(softly) "captain you're alive"

and so through her translator explanations are given and Ariel finds out her captain was in a medical induced coma due to his injuries they also mentioned transferring him to Oshu so she could be near him but only with permission


	30. Chapter 30

*tell them no he's safest in Echigo considering we don't currently have proper medical facilities*

*oh yeah I forgot we lost the hospital to explosions*

and so they leave but not before Ariel leaves a note for her captain once he woke up. Once back in Oshu they prepared for an attack but before they did that they played a game of soccer to reduce stress. Finally it was time for battle and it was intense Ariel first stayed behind to unload her side arm all three clips of ammo, she then used two clips of her sniper rifle and then finally she let loose two quivers of arrows. Once all of  _that_  had been let loos she got out her Katana and charged into battle where she would make a legend for herself with her actions in the very first battle but they would be forced to retreat to Kai due to injuries

***looks like Date will be OK with a few days of rest*  
**

***** **yes I was worried for a bit when I saw all that blood after all no one had noticed he'd been hit***

suddenly there was a commotion and a ransom note for some Date guards

"so where's my horse Ariel I'm going to rescue them"

"sorry sir but in  _your_  state I can't allow it"

the rest weren't sure what was going on until Ariel drew her Katana even then they were a little confused though they knew it was serious

"I'm going Kerenai whether you like it or not"

"not when you almost died from your injuries" (thinking) " _though to be honest I'm injured myself but no one not even the doctors know that_ "

it turned out to be a scene out of the anime Sengoku Basara only Ariel didn't just attack the right eye as this Date still had both of his but finally Ariel won the battle and knocked out her leader she then got out a reusable scroll and dry erase marker for communication

***make sure my leader stays put until he heals if any from the Takeda clan wish to come you may but only with permission from your lord you have 20 minutes***

20 minutes later 5 from Takeda were with Kerenai because they knew it was best to have a small force. Two hours later they arrived at the site where the hostages were being held and it was a fight from the start. Once they got to the final battle it was discovered that Ariel was injured herself and just as bad if not worse than the Date leader

"you're inured? You took down most of your enemies singlehandedly and you're  _injured_?"

"so what you have something that belongs to us"

and so after a fifteen minute battle Ariel won and while a Takeda soldier cut down the hostages others took care of the obviously inured Kerenai

***you are an idiot to hide such injuries** ***** _  
_

***maybe but I've had worse and I** _**did** _ **take care of the worst of them so I wouldn't bleed out*  
**

***still should have seeked treatment*  
**

***can we just go already?*  
**

***yes we can go***

once they got back to Kai Ariel was confined to the hospital to insure she healed and then they finally headed back to Oshu to resupply and make ready for possible invasion and invasion did come battles became an almost daily routine. If they weren't fighting they were resting up and healing both Date and Kerenai got scolded more than once for entering battle seriously wounded even if they now knew about the ten year torture Ariel went through. What also happened was that they lost track of time and soon enough three years had passed without them hardly noticing. If not for Ariel's former soccer captain who had joined three months after the battle had started they  _wouldn't_  have noticed. The three English speakers were together like usual when it was mentioned

"wow I just realized it's been three years since the almost constant battles started"

"you're right and it's been two years since I've started letting you use your powers Kerenai"

"yeah but you were right to hold me back as long as you did because I was your trump cared"

suddenly a messenger came bearing bad news after Date acknowledged it he let the other two know what was going on

"Kai has fallen, Takeda is dead, those that could escaped to here seeking asylum which of course I"m granting"

(sighs) "right I'm heading to medical then"

"and while Ariel's dong that I'll inform the rest of the clan while you greet the survivors lord Date"

and so they go their separate ways and Ariel is yet again thankful the Date army decided to learn ASL to make it easier on her to communicate

*what's up Ariel?*

*prepare for a major influx of injuries Kai has fallen and the survivors came here*

*right you helping out?*

*what do you think?*

several hours later things had finally calmed down and people were getting whatever sleep they could except for Ariel. Ariel decided that it was time to go behind enemy lines once more and do major sabotage and she would succeed but at a price. At the Date hospital three days after she had gone behind enemy lines

*how is she?*

(sighs) *if not for her sudden rescuers she'd be dead as it is she's in a coma and the injuries are simply too severe for anyone to deal with right now*

*so what's going to happen to her?*

*she's put into cryogenic sleep until further notice*

*what about her arm?*

*prosthetic most likely oh and apparently she saw her rescuers briefly before she passed out, but we don't know how much*

*when will she be put into cryo?*

*within a week*

and a week later she was indeed in cryo. Right before she was sealed her rescuers had one final thing to say to Ariel in their own language

*we'll see you again Ariel once you have healed from your wounds. Hopefully earth will be free by then but if not we know you'll fight to make things right*

and so they seal the cryo chamber and everyone vows to free earth before she awoke which unknown to them would be 100 years into the future


End file.
